Michigan's medical marijuana shortage: state lets dispensaries sell untested pot

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Michigan's crackdown on unlicensed medical marijuana shops has had a domino effect on the licenses businesses and has not cut off access for many patients. Now the state is making some allowances - but there's a caveat.

It's true, there is a shortage of medical marijuana in Michigan. The state says that's why shelves in some dispensaries are bare. 

Almost 300,000 Michigan patients have medical marijuana licenses but the state's lengthy vetting process is causing problems. Until at least the end of March, these provisioning centers can get their medicinal marijuana from anywhere. 

That's because on Wednesday, the department of Licensing And Regulatory Affairs (LARA) allowed dispensaries to sell "untested" medical marijuana until March 31-- so that patients can get their medicine.  

One of those shops is BotaniQ, owned by former FOX 2 anchor Anquenette "Q" Jamison. The legal name for a dispensary is a 'provisioning center' and Q says her center is short because the state has not licensed enough growers to meet the demands.

"It's good for patients because it gives patients access to medication, formulations and strains thst they may necessarily need that we don't have right now," Q said.

Most provisional centers get their medicine from caregiver growers which are not state tested.  

At least one medical marijuana patient we talked to wasn't worried about that because she still trusts where she's buying the pot.

"No, I'm not worried about it because I don't want to be caught in an illegal place. I know what I'm getting when I come here," Myla Bowden said.

Even with that, in order to meet demands, dispensaries are having patients sign a consent form telling them that, essentially, that the pot they're getting has not been tested by the state. 

"Because the unlicensed provision centers are also selling untested products, and because they are untested they can sell them at a significant cost advantage," Q said.

After March 31, any medical marijuana you buy should be tested and approved by the state of Michigan.