While the federal government turns its back on recreational marijuana, Michigan is prepared to blow the lid off medical marijuana production and dispensation. Government's relationship to the plant continues to evolve.

This blogger recalls when medical and recreational marijuana laws began to sweep the country nearly ten years ago. Back then, a key USDOJ memorandum indicated that President Obama's Attorney General directed the corps of United States Attorneys not to devote resources to marijuana prosecutions in states that legalized the controlled substance for either medical or recreational use.

The Trump Administration, especially through Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has signaled an end to the hands-off approach of its predecessor relative to recreational use of marijuana. This poses a huge roadblock to continued industry growth.

In Detroit, only two of over two hundred applications to operate medical marijuana "centers" were recently approved. The City has taken rigorous actions to shut down the unlicensed -and heretofore thriving- dispensaries. One of our clients reported that a cease and desist letter was tacked onto the door of his shop last month.

Meanwhile, just across the Detroit River, Canada is considering nation-wide legalization in all 9 of its provinces. This is the equivalent of removing marijuana from Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substance Act.

As an industry, marijuana is poised to explode as state laws across the nation are relaxed and as decriminalization takes place. In most medical and recreational use states, industrial warehouse space is suddenly in high demand as skilled growers seek adequate space to produce marijuana.

Some prospective licensees are willing to spend over a million dollars to re-purpose a warehouse for high-output marijuana production. Investors are tripping over each other to prepare for the rare state licensing opportunities that will unfold in December.

Just 8-months before taking applications for 500 and 1000-plant grow licenses and dispensaries, the State of Michigan is poised to earn millions in tax revenues from this relatively new industry. The state's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs [LARA] is gearing up for the new license applicants this December, creating the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation.

The problem for legitimate industry growth continues to be inclusion of marijuana on Schedule 1. As long as marijuana is illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act, the banks and insurance companies, so vital to industry growth, will remain on the sidelines and marijuana will continue to be a predominantly cash-based industry.

This problem will not stop the artisans that have been growing high-quality marijuana over the past decade. Like craft beers, they will continue to produce a product for which demand seems high and insatiable.

If you need to explore your options regarding the acquisition of one of the several state licenses soon to be available from the State of Michigan, give our law firm a call to schedule a free consultation.

Post #588
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TLM participant Chris Schuhmaker

Last week, SiriusXM announced a new documentary about life behind bars in California's San Quentin penitentiary. The Last Mile Radio focuses on the "tech accelerator" program at the prison that teaches inmates computer coding, entrepreneurship and other business skills.

With the U.S. claiming 25% of the world's prison population, the question the program seeks to answer for inmates is: what will you do when you get back to the world?

The mission of the Last Mile is to change the lives of the incarcerated through technology. Entry-level coding jobs can pay as high as $20 per hour.

Started back in 2010, program graduates who have been paroled have an incredible zero percent recidivism. Some of the graduates of the program have gone on to success in the Silicon Valley.

Many of the program participants are serving long sentences; 25 years to life in some cases. Others were first incarcerated as teenagers with no real educational foundation.

All of the participants seek a chance at redemption. Many inmates seek that redemption through spending their time in prison at a job.

Prison labor is required in America. Since 1979, inmates have worked for low wages -less than a dollar per hour- for the benefit of private companies. Many of the official seals we observe in government buildings, both federal and state, are manufactured via prison labor.

Of course, prison labor is political. While President Obama issued regulations to phase-out federal contracting with private companies for prison labor, the new Attorney General cancelled that directive, indicating that prisons were "open for business".

For their part, the inmates seem to value their jobs. For them, their low wage is less significant than the value they place on being productive.

The Last Mile Radio spotlights a program that goes right to the cutting edge. Computer coding jobs are hot; they pay well.

We here at the Law Blogger applaud these types of innovative programs that seek to turn a negative into a positive.

Post #582

www.clarkstonlegal.com