KINGSLEY, MI — TheraCann USA Benchmark has abandoned plans to build a $20 million medical marijuana plant in Kingsley.
Richard Goodman, president of TheraCann USA, confirmed the decision on Wednesday, Dec. 13. He cited a variety of reasons for the decision, most notably the time it was taking to finalize plans and concerns over investment and management costs.
A notice issued last month by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs that clarified that a single person or company may stack Class C licenses also influenced the decision, Goodman said. Class C licences allow a single holder to possess up to 1,500 plants.
LARA issued the following statement in regard to the clarification:
“Nearly three months ago – on September 28, 2017 – LARA issued an advisory bulletin which clarified our intention to allow a potential licensee to be granted multiple (“stacked”) class C grow licenses in a single location. This was not a change in policy but rather a clarification of current state law.”
The Kingsley plant proposal was created before the LARA clarification and even though that didn’t change Michigan’s laws on marijuana licensing, it convinced the company that a change in direction was needed.
TheraCann had been considering whether it may have made sense for it to manage individual growers housed in a central location, even though they would essentially be their competitors. The company ultimately decided against that.
“That just doesn’t make sense,” Goodman said. “In other states, that situation has gotten nasty. For our own standards, a wholly-owned facility where we can maintain quality is ideal.”
Michigan’s marijuana policies would allow something like that to take place, a LARA spokesman confirmed. LARA will begin accepting applications for medical marijuana facility licenses on Friday, Dec. 15.
$20M medical marijuana facility proposed in Northern Michigan
Village officials and
