LANSING, MI -- By the end of business Friday, Nov. 1, 34 businesses had applied for licenses to participate in Michigan’s upcoming recreational marijuana market.

Nearly 25 of those arrived between noon and 5 p.m.

The total number “slightly exceeded our expectations,” Marijuana Regulatory Agency spokesman David Harns said. He said about a dozen applications were submitted on the first day after the state began accepting license applications for medical marijuana facilities.

The Marijuana Regulatory Agency began accepting applications for recreational marijuana at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 1.

A lack of clarity from local governments on whether they’ll allow recreational marijuana businesses likely caused some prospective businesses to delay their applications, Marijuana Regulatory Agency Director Andrew Brisbo said about noon Friday. At the time, only 11 businesses had submitted applications.

Applicant’s must pay a $6,000 application fee with their submission and only five municipalities statewide have formally passed ordinances allowing recreational marijuana business, according to Marijuana Regulatory Agency data.

“I think a number of operators are waiting for the piece to come online ... before they submit their state-level application,” Brisbo said. “Since they do only have 90 days to complete the process."

Conversely, more than 1,300 Michigan communities have formally banned, either temporarily or indefinitely, recreational marijuana commerce.

Some communities are likely to allow recreational businesses in the future but have enacted temporary bans while their elected officials work out the local law.

For example: in Detroit, the City Council next week is expected to vote on a temporary ban that would last until Jan. 31; and in Washtenaw County’s Northfield Township, voters may ban recreational marijuana at the polls on Nov. 5.

Another segment of communities haven’t addressed recreational marijuana one way or the other. If the state receives an application from a municipality that doesn’t have a ban, Brisbo said the Marijuana Regulatory Agency procedure is to process the application.

If the municipality later enacts a ban, Brisbo said that has potential to lead to a lawsuit.

“What we’ve been preaching is, I don’t think it’s the safest bet for a business to operate in a community where they’re not sure they would be welcome yet,” Brisbo said. “We’ve been encouraging them to communicate with municipalities about their intentions.”

There is no deadline for filing an application.

“If people are ready to go and in a municipality that authorizes them, sure,” Brisbo said. "I think others are willing to wait a bit.

“I think we’ll see more activity over the first week for this program than we did on the medical side.”

Access to the majority of the license types, including for larger grow operations, processors, transporters, testing companies and retailers, are limited to about 300 businesses that already have medical marijuana licenses. That requirement expires on Dec. 6, 2021.

Licenses available to anyone not already medically approved include for growing up to 100 plants, marijuana event organizing and micro-business owners.

A micro-business is licensed to operate similarly to microbrewery, in the sense that it allows the owner to operate a small, self-contained marijuana business. They may grow, process and sell product from up to 150 plants and are forbidden from selling or transferring product to other retailers.

As of Friday afternoon, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency said only one applicant sought a micro-business license.

Ann Arbor’s Exclusive Brands was the first business to file an application at 12:17 a.m.

-- Gus Burns is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact him with questions, tips or comments at fburns@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, @GusBurns. Read more from MLive about medical and recreational marijuana.

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