Editor's Note: Michigan, as some of you may know, had already legalized a Medical Marijuana Program of sorts, however, no regulated market was established surrounding it. According to the Marijuana Policy Project's website: "Under the [existing Michigan Medical Marijuana Program], patients can choose to either cultivate their own medical marijuana in an enclosed, locked facility or to designate a caregiver to do so for them. Caregivers can assist no more than five patients."
LANSING, MI — The Michigan House on Wednesday signed off on sweeping plans to create a highly-regulated medical marijuana industry and allow patients to purchase the drug at storefront dispensaries, which would be taxed.
"These are regulated, inspected facilities where patients can feel safe obtaining their medicine," said Rep. Mike Callton, R-Nashville, who sponsored the dispensary legislation.
House Bill 4209, approved in a 95-11 vote and now heading to the Senate, would create a new state board to license dispensaries, large-scale growers, processors, distributors and testing facilities in communities that allow them.
The House also approved bills to create a "seed-to-sale" tracking system for medical marijuana and extend legal protections to registered patients who prefer to use non-smokable forms of the drug, including edibles and oils.
A series of state court rulings have clouded the legal status of dispensaries and marijuana-infused products, which some patients — and parents with sick kids — find more effective and healthier than smoking.
