Pubdate: Wed, 21 May 2014
Source: Metro Times (Detroit, MI)
Column: Higher Ground
Copyright: 2014 C.E.G.W./Times-Shamrock
Contact:  http://www.metrotimes.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1381
Author: Larry Gabriel
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?275 (Cannabis - Michigan)

A GROWING BUSINESS

Legal Ambiguities and the Future of Michigan Marijuana.

If The Graduate came out today, Michael Komorn suggests a famous bit 
of dialogue might go like this:

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.

Benjamin: Yes, sir.

Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

Benjamin: Yes, I am.

Mr. McGuire: Marijuana.

Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?

Mr. McGuire: There's a great future in marijuana. Think about it. 
Will you think about it?

In The Graduate, of course, that word was "plastics." But Komorn, a 
Southfield-based attorney, sees that kind of potential today in 
marijuana. Komorn should know. At komornlaw.com, you'll find a giant 
banner at the top of the page proclaiming that "Since November 2008, 
Komorn Law has focused on protecting and defending the rights of 
medical marijuana patients and caregivers."

It stands to reason that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act has 
opened a new line of legal focus and another revenue stream for 
lawyers. But that's only the most obvious tip of the iceberg. Komorn 
likens it to a feeding frenzy.

"It's the equivalent of watching a shark tank," he says. "There are 
smart people with business savvy who want to get involved in an 
up-and-coming industry with great demand. There are thousands of 
bright, smart ideas about how to facilitate the supply and the 
demand. The idea of a new industry is exciting to a lot of people."

The supply and demand isn't just about how much marijuana can be sold 
to how many people. I recently listened in on a teleconference about 
the Colorado Cannabis Summit, which takes place in Denver May 22. 
It's an eye-opener if you've been snoozing on cannabis. I've talked 
to folks in Michigan about how medical marijuana affects businesses 
such as grow suppliers, electricians, carpenters, and the like, but 
Colorado is eons beyond Michigan in industry sophistication. Colorado 
voters legalized recreational marijuana in the fall of 2012. 
Legalization was rolled out Jan. 1 this year, and so far it's been a bonanza.

Folks on this phone conference were representing business sectors -- 
real estate, construction, security, technology, testing labs, law, 
government relations, infused products, medical, retail, and, well, 
growing marijuana. There was even a participant talking about 
developing a TV show about marijuana, just like we see cable shows 
about home renovations, restaurants, and fashion.

"Colorado has the opportunity to be the Silicon Valley of 
cannabusiness," says summit CEO Stan Wagner.

There's a general sense among the participants that the whole world 
is watching and they need to get it right to be a model for a policy 
that will work its way across the nation state by state until the 
federal government is forced to act in accord with the changes.

That's where Komorn and others in Michigan come in. They're preparing 
for a future where cannabis is business as usual. Right now the 
activists and medical marijuana get most of the headlines, but Komorn 
has been contacted by a host of interests.

"The types of business are provisioning centers, growing, the process 
of manufacturing, labeling, different machines that help; they're 
expensive," he says. "People are willing to invest in those 
[machines] innate to the medical use of cannabis to make sure 
products are the most pure, clean, lacking contaminants and whatnot 
- -- all in the consciousness of an industry that's going to need 
health and safety services. I get it from all over. People who have 
owned buildings for years who want to sublet or lease them out. ... 
I've had people from out of state who are on the stock market side, 
hedge funds to the wealthy, nouveau chic commodities people, people 
who want to put money into existing dispensaries that are being 
tolerated. They want to take their model, increase their patient 
base, and take it to other states and franchise them."

The quiet money is betting on marijuana. As of early May, the state 
of Colorado has collected some $25 million in taxes, licenses, and 
fees since the vote for legalization, the lion's share of that since 
recreational sales began. But it's not just the state that's cashing in.

"I think that what you find most intriguing in the marketplace is 
that since the first quarter, lease rates have quadrupled, going from 
about $4.50 per square foot to some of the more recent investors in 
our marketplace leasing their facilities up to $20 a square foot for 
grow facilities," says Phillip Walker, director of business 
development at Foothills Commercial Builders in the Denver area. "And 
that's brought a lot of instate investors into the marketplace 
because there's actually some sustainability to it."

There are all kinds of issues popping up, such as standardized 
testing from facility to facility. People who have lived with an 
underground industry where nothing is regulated or standardized have 
huge changes to consider in a legal environment. There are people who 
don't want to enter that ballpark, but when you step out of home 
grows and into manufactured products, that's the field you're playing 
on. Shellene Suemori, head of science for Dixie Elixirs and Edibles, 
underscored the need for uniformity in testing facilities during the 
teleconference:

"We want to be sure those results are accurate and they are 
consistent and reliable, no matter which labs they've been taken to," 
she said. "And that is important for our consumers and the 
predictability of their experience. From a manufacturer's standpoint, 
that's enormously important. An inaccurate test could cause our 
products to be destroyed, which is an enormous loss, obviously, to 
our business, as well, and it's important to lab owners and also 
important to the industry overall as we set the standards for states 
coming on after Colorado."

It's not as simple as slapping your money down on the barrelhead and 
going into business, and Michigan has huge issues as a 
medical-marijuana state where government and law enforcement aren't 
necessarily on board with the idea.

"Before we have any discussion about what they need to open a 
business, basically I read them the riot act," says Komorn. "I make 
it clear that it's very challenging because of what the law is and 
the politics. As soon as they understand it, then we talk about steps 
to be taken."

Even with all the legal ambiguity, people are opening up facilities 
where medical marijuana can be accessed, if for no other reason than 
they want to be out front when Michigan "comes after Colorado" 
someday in the future. If and when that happens, the infrastructure 
will appear a lot faster than most people realize. Komorn has been 
talking to some of the people standing on the sidelines trying to get 
into the game.

"They want to trademark, they want to come out and get it done 
right," he says. "They want to work. They want to do it legally. They 
want to pay taxes. They want to register with the state. That's the 
thing, there's the desire of people to work in Michigan. ... It's 
fascinating. It shows the great will of the people of Michigan who 
want to work."

Have you noticed the signs for marijuana businesses popping up in 
your neighborhood? Anyone who thinks they can turn back the tide to 
absolute prohibition is just plain wrong.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom