The Michigan Regulatory Agency announced Oct. 6 that it will allow cannabis businesses to apply for standalone adult-use licenses starting March 1, 2021, in an effort to combat the state’s illicit market, according to an MLive.com report.

Regulators are removing a requirement that class B and C cultivators, as well as labs, processors, transporters and retailers, in the adult-use market must first hold a medical cannabis license, the news outlet reported, which translates to lower application and license fees for businesses that do not want to participate in the medical market.

The move also opens the adult-use market to new businesses, including those in communities that have not opted in to the medical market but that would like to participate in the adult-use industry, according to MLive.com.

The Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act of 2018, which legalized adult-use cannabis in the state, included provisions that barred non-medical cannabis license holders from entering the adult-use market at the onset in an effort to give a competitive advantage to those already operating. The law allowed the state to eliminate this requirement one year after the state began accepting adult-use license applications last November, MLive.com reported.

The Marijuana Regulatory Agency began considering taking advantage of this clause in August to eliminate the requirement, which is set to expire automatically two years after the state began accepting license applications, according to the news outlet.