Cannabis operators face two regulators at once — the Cannabis Regulatory Agency and the municipality — and they do not coordinate. A license is only as secure as the weakest of the two approvals, plus the lease, plus the record in Metrc.
Licensing
- Adult-use and medical license applications, prequalification, and supplemental filings
- Notices of deficiency — including the lease, control, and premises documentation the CRA routinely asks for
- Municipal opt-in applications, competitive scoring processes, and local approvals
- Zoning, site control, and buffer-distance issues for licensed premises
- License transfers, changes of ownership, and new-interest disclosures
- Renewals, including financial statement and disclosure requirements
Enforcement and compliance
- Formal complaints, investigations, and disciplinary proceedings
- Consent orders, fines, and the compliance obligations that follow them
- Metrc discrepancies, inventory and waste tracking, and trade sample issues
- Standard operating procedures drafted to the agency's actual expectations
- Contested cases before the Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules
- Nonrenewal and summary suspension responses
Transactions in a licensed industry
Buying, selling, or investing in a licensed cannabis business is a regulated transaction, not just a corporate one. Deal structure has to survive disclosure, and the timeline has to account for agency review. The firm handles purchase agreements, management and consulting arrangements, real estate for licensed premises, leases drafted for licensing purposes, and the member disputes that arise inside cannabis entities.
The lease is a licensing document. A standard commercial lease often fails the CRA's site-control requirements. Fixing it after a notice of deficiency costs time you may not have before a deadline.
Common questions
What happens if the CRA sends a notice of deficiency?
It identifies what the agency believes is missing or noncompliant and sets a deadline to cure. Most are fixable, but the response has to actually satisfy the cited requirement rather than restate the original submission. Missing the deadline can end the application.
Can I sell my cannabis license?
Licenses themselves are not freely transferable, but ownership of the licensed entity can change subject to agency review and disclosure of new interest holders. Deals are typically structured with closing conditioned on that approval.
Does the firm handle municipal cannabis approvals too?
Yes. State and local approvals are separate tracks, and many operators lose on the local side — scoring processes, opt-in ordinances, zoning, and buffer distances.
Can you defend a formal complaint or disciplinary matter?
Yes, including the compliance conference stage, negotiated consent orders, and contested cases before the Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules.
Speak with the firm about this
Describe the situation and any deadline. The firm responds to time-sensitive matters the same business day.