News » Patients’ Cards in Michigan Delayed By Backlog





When Michigan’s medical marijuana law was passed, the Michigan Department of Community health, which is responsible for approving or denying applications, underestimated the number of applications that the state would receive. They have issue or renewed 32,270 patient cards and 13,868 caregiver cards however in just the last 19 months there have been 56,513 applications. The policy is to approve or deny these requests within 15 days but due to the backlog Melanie Brim, the director of the department’s Bureau of Health Professions says “we’re not doing that.”

According to Brim, they are several thousand applications behind and are now allowing applicants to show their application to law enforcement as long as it is at least 20 days old.

Many government officials discussed the issue at the Michigan Municipal League’s annual meeting in Dearborn. Most, if not all, agree that the current law is too vague in many areas, and cities have taken it upon themselves to enact laws that ban or regulate dispensaries in their jurisdictions. Adria Ditschman, an attorney for the Hubbard Law Firm in Lansing has advised many communities who are seeking to address some of these vague areas. She recommends addressing the issue via licensing or zoning as overregulation may make them a target for litigation.

[source Freep.com]

Tags: medical, Michigan, regulation