LOCAL

85 apply for Lansing medical marijuana dispensary licenses

Lansing State Journal

LANSING - Lansing received 85 applications for marijuana dispensaries by Friday's deadline for submissions.

City Clerk Chris Swope said that as of 6:30 p.m. his office had received more than 60 applications but had a line of people still waiting to apply. The final count came in at 85, he said later.

It likely will take several weeks to determine who gets the 20 licenses available in the first round, Swope told the State Journal on Friday evening. Under the ordinance, an additional five licenses could be awarded later.

Last week, Mayor Virg Bernero issued an executive order that said marijuana dispensaries will be allowed to operate for one week after Friday's application deadline while their owners wait to see if their licenses get approved. Under the order, the city could shut down those without a license by Dec. 22.

On Saturday, Bernero said he will consider amending his executive order to push back the Dec. 22 deadline, adding that his intent was to allow a grace period until the City Clerk's Office completed its review. Bernero said he'll discuss the matter with the city attorney and make a decision on Monday.

Council approved a marijuana ordinance in September that capped the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in Lansing at 25. That cap has not yet been enforced. Other marijuana businesses, such as growers, testing facilities and secure transport companies, also must be licensed but are not subjected to a cap on numbers.

Under Lansing's ordinance, dispensary operators must have licenses from both the city and the state, which also began accepting applications under its recently created regulations last week.

Eventually, unlicensed dispensaries operating in Lansing could be padlocked and owners could be fined up to $1,000 per day.

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.