Pubdate: Mon, 21 Aug 2017 Source: Detroit News (MI) Copyright: 2017 The Detroit News Contact: http://www.detroitnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126 Author: Michael Gerstein MICHIGAN REGULATOR: SHUT DOWN MEDICAL POT SHOPS Lansing - A member of a state board charged with creating new rules for the virtually unregulated medical marijuana industry on Monday called for all existing dispensaries to be shuttered until official licenses can be doled out. But the board tabled the issue until the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation and the office of Attorney General Bill Schuette can weigh in after retired State Police sergeant David Bailey raised the idea. Anxiety quickly rippled through the boardas second public hearing as people lined up to express fear and anger that they would have to resort to the black market to find medical marijuana. A woman, saying she uses medical marijuana to treat seizures, said she feared her condition would worsen. A man whose preteen son takes it for the same reason expressed an identical woe, while others with ailments of all kinds said they wouldnat be able to find treatment anymore. aI use it to treat my epilepsy because nothing else (works) and Iam still having seizures daily,a one unidentified woman said. aWhat is going to happen to us -- the ones who rely on it?a Jason Moon, a spokesman for the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, declined to say whether the board or the department has the authority to shut dispensaries. aThe Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation will thoroughly review the recommendations and discussion from the board, and consult with the Attorney General's office before any action is taken,a Moon said in an email. In the meantime, the department has the power to implement aemergency rulesa to aprotect the safety of Michiganders and to ensure laws are administered fairly and efficiently,a he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt