Pubdate: Mon, 21 Aug 2017
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Copyright: 2017 The Detroit News
Contact:  http://www.detroitnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126
Author: Michael Gerstein

MICHIGAN REGULATOR: SHUT DOWN MEDICAL POT SHOPS

Lansing - A member of a state board charged with creating new rules
for the virtually unregulated medical marijuana industry on Monday
called for all existing dispensaries to be shuttered until official
licenses can be doled out.

But the board tabled the issue until the Bureau of Medical Marijuana
Regulation and the office of Attorney General Bill Schuette can weigh
in after retired State Police sergeant David Bailey raised the idea.

Anxiety quickly rippled through the boarda€™s second public hearing as
people lined up to express fear and anger that they would have to
resort to the black market to find medical marijuana.

A woman, saying she uses medical marijuana to treat seizures, said she
feared her condition would worsen. A man whose preteen son takes it
for the same reason expressed an identical woe, while others with
ailments of all kinds said they wouldna€™t be able to find treatment
anymore.

a€œI use it to treat my epilepsy because nothing else (works) and
Ia€™m still having seizures daily,a€ one unidentified woman said.
a€œWhat is going to happen to us -- the ones who rely on it?a€

Jason Moon, a spokesman for the Department of Licensing and Regulatory
Affairs, declined to say whether the board or the department has the
authority to shut dispensaries.

a€œThe Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation will thoroughly review
the recommendations and discussion from the board, and consult with
the Attorney General's office before any action is taken,a€ Moon said
in an email.

In the meantime, the department has the power to implement
a€œemergency rulesa€ to a€œprotect the safety of Michiganders and to
ensure laws are administered fairly and efficiently,a€ he said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt