The city marked another milestone Thursday on the road to commercial marijuana when two medical marijuana growers got the green light from the state.
HDS Investments and MichiCann both received preliminary approvals from the Michigan Medical Marihuana Licensing Board — the first medical marijuana businesses in the city to do so. “This is the first real step toward having somebody up and running so that we can begin to serve the needs of the community,” Community Development Director Sanya Vitale said.
The first-stage approvals put the businesses on track to join the state’s newly regulated marijuana market, which has seen $46 million in provisioning center sales since Nov. 1, according to the state’s Bureau of Marijuana Regulation.
Preliminary approval means the businesses cleared financial and criminal background reviews. They still must be approved by the state for an operating license in the months ahead after building inspections, but the preliminary approval is seen as key.
“We feel as though this was our biggest hurdle,” Jeff Durrell, a partner in HDS, said Thursday after the approval. “This was a huge hurdle. What a wild card, having to sit and wait to get preapproved.”
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