Owner of Multiple Provisioning Centers In Michigan Sentenced to Eleven Years
Danny Trevino of Lansing, owner and operator of the Hydroworld provisioning centers, surrendered himself to authorities after being found guilty of five counts of maintaining a drug-involved premise, as well as multiple counts of manufacturing, distributing, possessing with intent to distribute and possessing an excess of 100 plants of marijuana. Over the past decade Trevino admittedly owned and operated the dispensaries in five different Michigan cities, including Lansing, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Flint and Mount Pleasant. A statement released by the prosecuting attorney’s office stated that Trevino’s businesses “operated far outside the boundaries of not only federal law but also the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.” Trevino had prior drug felony convictions involving cocaine and marijuana, according to the statement, including convictions in 1994 and 2002.
Weedmaps No Longer Doing Business With Black Market Shops
The well known app Weedmaps recently announced that they intend to remove all of the unlicensed cannabis businesses from their platform by the end of this year. Individual states and municipalities have been struggling to get on top of the black market business, and until recently the operators of the app did not worry about whether or not a business was licensed. While the removing of unlicensed business from the app most likely won’t have a huge impact on getting these shops shut down, however it will help to filter patients and patrons to the legally ran businesses. Josh Hovey, a spokesperson for the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association said “We want to see the black market go away as much as possible. Weedmaps is now doing their part to make sure that people that are using their platform are doing it responsibly, so it’s a great step for the state.”Anyone who’s on Weedmaps, who’s not licensed, is able to undercut the market.” Unlicensed shops are not paying any fees to their respective state, or local communities, which unfortunately gives them an advantage.
State To Offer Classes To Help Licensees Navigate The Application Process
Michigan regulators have announced that they will be hosting a series of sessions this month for potential recreational cannabis business licensees, applications will be accepted beginning November 1st. The five sessions are designed to help demonstrate the online license process, each session will be approximately 3 hours long. There is no cost for the sessions, however due to space constraints, potential applicants should register as soon as possible to ensure their spot. If you are unable to attend the sessions, application instructions, checklists, and other additional resources will be made available on the State’s website. Please see the schedule for these sessions listed below.
Thursday, Sept. 5: Detroit, 9 a.m.
Thursday Sept. 12: Saginaw, 2 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 19: Kalamazoo, 10 a.m.
Thursday, Sept. 26: Lansing, 9 a.m.
Monday, Sept. 30: Traverse City, 1 p.m.
For more information visit:
Federal Regulators Announce No Punishment for Credit Unions Working with Marijuana Businesses
The chairman for the National Credit Union Administration, Rodney Hood, said in a recent interview that regulators would not punish credit unions just for working with marijuana businesses that are in compliance with state laws. Speaking to the Credit Union Times, Hood stated “It’s a business decision for the credit unions if they want to take the deposits.” He furthered that these financial institutions must adhere to existing federal guidance and ensure that the marijuana establishments they are in business with are not breaking rules such as anti-money laundering laws.
The MM Report called dozens of Credit Unions around the state of Michigan to find out if any were currently working with the cannabis industry, or if they had plans to in the future. While most responded with a “no” for both questions, others were uncertain. The most promising were Team One Credit Union and CASE Credit Union. Team One stated they were “working on a solution” and that it would be ready “within the year”. They were unable to specify if that meant by the end of 2019, or within twelve months. Team One is taking names and numbers with plans to inform interested parties as to when they can do business. CASE Credit Unions Assistant Vice President of Marketing, Molly Summerfield, provided information on what CASE is planning. “We are open to working with marijuana businesses. Currently we are doing research, looking at what they did in other states, and working with the MRA for information on regulations.” She went on to explain that more than likely their services will cover seed to sale, but that there may be restrictions similar to other states, such as caps on deposits. In regards to CASE readniness to look into working with cannabis business she stated “It’s about safety for the community.”
