LANSING, Mich., Dec. 21, 2021 — State Rep. Cynthia A. Johnson (D-Detroit) continues to fight in opposition to House Bills 5300–02, which would needlessly limit the ability of caregivers to provide necessary cannabis-based medicine to their patients.

“The medical marijuana that caregivers provide to their patients is often at a lower cost and more convenient than large cannabis corporations,” said Johnson, the Michigan Legislative Cannabis Caucus chair. “We cannot allow these large corporations to use this bill package to squeeze our local caregivers out of the industry and give patients fewer options.”

Among other things, the bill package would:

  • Define and regulate licensed specialty medical growers.
  • Require the statewide monitoring system that tracks medical marijuana sales and transfers between licensees, registered primary caregivers and registered qualified patients to track certain information about licensed specialty medical growers.
  • Prohibit transfers of marijuana from a licensed specialty medical grower to a licensee in the recreational marijuana market and allows for the sale or transfer or marijuana to a registered qualifying patient if the specialty medical grower is connected through the MRA’s registration process. The sale is then entered into a statewide monitoring system and has to be tested.
  • Prohibit an individual who has ownership interest in a safety compliance facility or a secure transporter.
  • Eliminate provisions barring a registered qualified patient from transferring marijuana or a marijuana-infused product to any individual and making selling marijuana to someone not a registered qualifying patient a felony offense.
  • No longer exclude an applicant from meeting the conditions for automatic registration or licensure due to a felony based solely on a marijuana-related offense committed during the 10 years immediately preceding an application as a registered primary caregiver or licensed specialty medical grower.

“While these bills create the licensed specialty medical growers’ category with similar rights and privileges to caregivers, these new regulations will increase the costs and impact the grower’s ability to produce medical marijuana,” Johnson said. “This would not only affect caregivers but also the thousands of people in our state who need cannabis-based medication. We cannot allow this to happen. I will not stop fighting against this needless legislation until we find a way to ensure caregivers can deliver medication to their patients.”