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96 Detroit Mercy L. Rev. Online J. 101 (2018)

handle is hein.journals/dtmercyl96 and id is 1 raw text is: STIRRING THE BANKRUPTCY POT BRITTANY BYRNES Law Clerk at Clayson, Schneider & Miller, PC With the November election quickly approaching, the legalization of recreational marijuana has been a trending topic for Michigan residents for months. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, the marijuana business is big business1 and is comprised of a multi-billion-dollar industry consisting of producers, developers and distributors, and the landlords, vendors and others who do business with these new entrepreneurs.2 While many may be eager to break into the industry at the promise of impressive financial gains, the risks of operating a business in which the use, cultivation, and distribution are still a violation of federal law cannot be ignored.3 One such major risk in the marijuana industry is inability of marijuana professionals to file for the protections of bankruptcy. An individual or business entity in the marijuana industry is unlikely going to receive relief from the bankruptcy court, regardless of which chapter they file under.4 With federal lenders becoming increasingly weary of extending credit to those in the marijuana business,5 bankruptcy could be a very real outcome for some. In Michigan, individual debtors in the state legal medical marijuana industry are likely to face extreme challenges in discharging their debt. Moreover, a denial of debt discharge for similarly situated individuals may become precedent in Michigan. In in re Johnson, a sixty-six-year-old western Michigan resident filed 1 Candace C. Carlyon & Matthew R. Carlyon, Bankruptcy Courts Deny Relief to Marijuana Businesses, 33-12 ABIJ 42, 42 (2014). 2 B. Summer Chandler, It's All Going to Pot: Is Relief Available for Debtors in the Marijuana Business?, 34-12 ABIJ 46, 46 (2015). 3 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, Pub. L. No. 91-513, 84 Stat. 1236 (1970) (codified as amended at 21 U.S.C. §§ 801-971). 4 Carlyon, supra note 1, at 42; see General Comparison of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, AM. B. Ass'N (Oct. 9, 2018), https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/publiced/practical/books/f amilylegal _guide/bankruptcy_7_13.authcheckdam.pdf. 5 U.S. Dep't of Treasury, Fin. Crimes Enf't Network, FIN-2014-G001, Guidance: BSA Expectations Regarding Marijuana-Related Businesses (Oct. 9, 2018), fincen.gov/statutesregs/guidance/pdf/FIN-2014-GOOl.pdf.