Three additional pre-qualification applications for medical marijuana businesses in Michigan were approved Thursday morning, but some in the industry remain concerned the process is not moving fast enough.

At its Thursday meeting, Michigan's Medical Marihuana Licensing Board approved pre-qualification applications for Capital Transport, LLC, Great Lakes Cultivations, LLC, and Thrive Enterprises, LLC.

The board has yet to fully approve any licenses for marijuana dispensaries or associated businesses, as pre-qualified applicants must also undergo a facility review to determine if the building housing the business is up to code.

As of April 27, 459 applications have been submitted for pre-qualification, and 175 facility license applications have been submitted. Two businesses were denied licenses by the board and have the opportunity to appeal the decision.

Board Chair Rick Johnson said although it wasn't easy to get the ball rolling on considering applications, the process is becoming more streamlined.

"From my perspective, everything is moving much smoother and easier," Johnson said. "Today, even though we only had three, we're starting to move in a direction where we'll move a lot more."

Earlier this week, Andrew Brisbo, director of the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation, said the lengthy investigation required to determine eligibility for applicants and the number of applications that came in so close to the Feb. 15 deadline for existing facilities to apply have contributed to bottlenecks in the process.

That's given many existing marijuana businesses in Michigan cause for concern, as the bureau initially set June 15 as the deadline for dispensaries and other marijuana businesses in the application process to either have a license or close shop.

State officials have said they won't pursue action against businesses that continue operation past the deadline, but staying open past June 15 could put existing businesses at risk if the board decides continued operations renders them ineligible for a license.

Jenn Zielinski of Dunaskiss Consulting called for extending the state's deadline past June 15 to help protect patient access and keep medical marijuana patients out of the illicit market.

"The board could put forth a resolution that would not penalize operations who did their due diligence," she said.

Brisbo said the bureau is working through applications as quickly as it can, and that expediting the investigation process would only make it harder for board members to make a fair determination when issuing licenses. He said he's expecting a lot more to come before the board at upcoming hearings.

"I feel confident we'll issue enough licenses by June 15 to ensure safe patient access," Brisbo said.

Board member Donald Bailey said he believes there would have been frustrations with a license-by date for existing medical marijuana operations regardless of when LARA set it. He said applicants that are not currently operating are at a "distinct disadvantage" to those in operation and said the focus should be on patient access to safe, regulated medical marijuana.

"As soon as the department said June 15, that was going to be a problem," he said. "This is for the patients. It's not about the money."

The department is currently going through applications in the order they were received - something that frustrates Tim Schuler, who along with his business partner applied for licensing to start a secure transporting medical marijuana operation.

Schuler, of Pinconning, said he wants to know where his application stands in the queue to get an idea of whether it's worth the wait. He said he initially thought the process would go quicker for his application, considering both the pre-qualification and facility review portions have been turned in and said there is less material for state employees to sift through.

"We had no anticipation that it would take as long as it has to get zero answers," he said.