It’s been almost a year since voters in the state of Michigan legalized marijuana for recreational use and according to an article in the Detroit Free press, it may be awhile until the drug goes on sale.
The state is now preparing to hand out businesses licenses but sales of the drug may not actually start until next March or even April of 2020.
Michigan is concerned over a shortage of pot for medical marijuana users, and the first harvests for the recreational market won’t be ready until next spring.
The state also has not decided if it will allow medical marijuana growers, processors and dispensary owners to transfer existing medical marijuana flower and infused products to the recreational market.
“It’s incumbent upon us to ensure that there’s access for medical patients through the medical marijuana facilities,” said Andrew Brisbo, the director of the state Marijuana Regulatory Agency. “So I would err on the side of caution and ensuring better access to their needs instead of moving products into the broader adult use market.”
“Oh no — that’s going to be terrible. We’re telling everybody early 2020,” said Penny Milkey, who owns the Northern Specialty Health dispensary in Houghton. “We get phone calls every day from people in Wisconsin who want to try it as a medicine, but they can’t because it’s not legal in Wisconsin.”
The state licensing office, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency, is expected to begin accepting recreational marijuana business applications at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 1. Hand-delivered applications may be dropped off at the agency’s counter in Lansing beginning at 8 a.m. Friday.