Michigan Medical marijuana bills head to Governor Snyder

Posted by Sagar Satapathy on September 17, 2016.

In a major development, the Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday voted in favor of a set of bills that would legalize edible forms of medical marijuana and regulate the sale of medical marijuana through dispensaries. The bills are now on their way to Republican Governor Rick Snyder, who is expected to sign them.

The bills would legalize and regulate dispensaries and establish a "seed-to-sale" tracking system for medical marijuana. In addition, they would legalize non-smokable forms of medical marijuana like edibles and oils.

The bills include House Bill 4209, 4210, and 4827 aim at the constitutional amendment for medical marijuana was passed by the voters of the state in a 2008 referendum.

The House Bill 4209 creates the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act to license and regulate the growth, processing, transport and provisioning of medical marijuana, while the House Bill 4210 amends the voter-initiated Michigan Medical Marijuana Act to allow for the manufacture and use of marijuana-infused products by qualified patients. And, the House Bill 4827 creates the Marijuana Tracking Act and a seed-to-sale tracking system to track all medical marijuana.

The marijuana growers, processors, transporters, dispensaries and accredited testing facilities would all be state-licensed. Dispensaries would be taxed at 3% of their gross receipts. Marijuana facilities could operate only in municipalities that have authorized them through local ordinances, and municipalities could limit the number and where they could locate for marijuana facilities.

Bill package sponsor, Representative Mike Callton, R-Nashville, called the legislation his “magnum opus”. He revealed that he started working on the legislation about five years ago in a bid to help cancer patients and children with epilepsy. He also stated that he is confident Snyder will sign the legislation.

However, a handful of protesters outside the capitol opposed the bills, saying they set up a system that catered to big, out of state businesses over local distributors.

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