Since the Michigan Medical Marijuana Licensing Board was abolished at the end of April, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency has dramatically picked up the pace of reviewing business applications. In May, the first full month of taking over licensing responsibilities, the MRA reviewed, and either approved, denied or gave preliminary approval to 213 license applications. In […]
Michigan
Michigan’s new marijuana agency will regulate a market in turmoil
When Michigan officially consolidates pot business oversight into the Marijuana Regulatory Agency on Tuesday, state officials will be expected to tackle tough issues that are roiling the medical and recreational marijuana markets. There are lingering fears among Michigan’s marijuana businesses about the viability of a fully licensed market that has yet to produce a steady, tested supply that can meet the […]
Majoring in marijuana: Michigan universities expand their degree programs
Marijuana is moving from the dorm room to the classroom at Michigan universities. Two universities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are the first in the state to add cannabis-focused degree programs to their offerings. In Marquette, Northern Michigan University — which first launched its Medicinal Plant Chemistry program in 2017 — is expanding its lab space to be […]
Michigan’s unlicensed pot dispensaries to get firm closure deadline
Lawmakers will try to shutter unlicensed medical marijuana providers once and for all, as of June 1, under a bill now on a fast track in the Legislature. Earlier efforts to shut down providers who have not yet obtained licenses under Michigan’s new regulatory setup have been thwarted by court challenges. Under a bill introduced […]
Cresco Labs Receives Approval to Enter the Michigan Market
PRESS RELEASE CHICAGO & LANSING, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Cresco Labs Inc. (“Cresco Labs” or the “Company”) (CSE: CL) (OTCQX: CRLBF), one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States, today announced that it has completed the most comprehensive portion of Michigan’s application process, being pre-qualified for a cultivation and processing license by […]
Michigan expects draft recreational marijuana rules by June
The state’s Bureau of Marijuana Regulation plans to have draft rules ready by June for the commercial production and sale of recreational marijuana. The issuance of those emergency administrative rules, however, might not occur until later in the year when the department can begin accepting applications for the recreational industry, bureau Director Andrew Brisbo told lawmakers Wednesday. […]
After 4 months, medical marijuana sales in Michigan exceed $42 million
Michigan’s medical marijuana market is growing beyond expectations, generating more than $42 million in sales since the first dispensary opened on Nov. 1. In the first month of operation, when only a few licensed dispensaries were open, $7.1 million in pot sales were recorded with the state Department of Licensing and Regulation. That figure grew […]
Gov. Whitmer signs executive order to abolish Michigan marijuana licensing board
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Friday abolishing the board that approves or denies applications for licenses for medical marijuana businesses. The action comes as the volunteer board has struggled to consider license applications in a timely manner, effectively stalling a fully viable medical marijuana market at a time when the much bigger recreational weed […]
Why marijuana sales on the black market are blooming in Michigan after legalization
Working as a cashier at a dead-end job, Jordan D. saw an opportunity to make piles of quick cash after recreational marijuana was legalized in December. The 25-year-old cobbled together enough money for a few ounces of top-shelf cannabis and began delivering his product to homes in metro Detroit. For a few hundred dollars a […]
Michigan proposes cutting fees for medical marijuana patients and growers
Medical marijuana cardholders and the caregivers who provide them with pot will get a break on the cost of getting registered under new rules proposed by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The rules, which won’t go into effect until later this year, would lower the cost of a two-year medical marijuana card […]
Michigan faces health risks from tainted medical marijuana
The recalls of six batches of medical marijuana available on the state’s regulated market since January have prompted industry and health expert concerns about continuing to let caregivers grow and create pot products to meet a shortage in the licensed market. More than 50 pounds of medical marijuana product were recalled in January from provisioning centers in […]
Michigan medical marijuana facilities given temporary licenses following shortage
More than 70 Michigan dispensaries operating under temporary licenses were forced to shut their doors at the beginning of 2019. In compliance with a set of bills passed in 2016, reforming the way the state regulates the production and sale of medical marijuana. The result was a shortage in medical marijuana, plaguing many areas in Michigan […]
Michigan regulators may allow unlicensed marijuana businesses to reopen
The state of Michigan may soon allow closed medical marijuana dispensaries without a license to reopen. More than half the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries were forced to close earlier this month because of licensing issues. The result of the closures has been a shortage of medical marijuana products. Even licensed dispensaries have had problems stocking […]
Gift of pot? Marijuana businesses work in Michigan law’s gray area
Selling marijuana won’t be legal for another year in Michigan, but entrepreneurs are seeing green with a loophole in the new law. Since recreational marijuana became legal Dec. 6, a few have made hundreds, even thousands, of dollars by selling overpriced inexpensive goods such as snacks, T-shirts and chocolates with a “gift” of marijuana. They […]
80 Michigan communities are blocking recreational marijuana businesses
At least 80 Michigan communities have banned or are moving to ban recreational marijuana retail stores and related businesses. It’s a swift response from local governments in the month and a half since voters chose to legalize marijuana in Michigan. The Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act took effect Dec. 6. Some of those […]
Cannabis Businesses In Michigan Gift Marijuana To Bypass Law
Although marijuana is now legal for recreational use across the state of Michigan, there isn’t anywhere for adult cannabis consumers to purchase it. The state must first assemble the regulatory affairs for the new pot market, which, if the predictions are accurate, could set it at early 2020 before dispensaries open their doors. This means […]
New name and website reflect marijuana now legal in Michigan
Reflecting the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, the state department that regulates the pot industry is changing its name. The Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation is losing one of its Ms and now is the Bureau of Marijuana Regulation. The department is charged with coming up with the rules and regulations that will govern […]
Michigan Officially Legalizes Marijuana For Recreational Use
Legal marijuana has officially come to the Midwest. Under a new measure taking effect Thursday in Michigan, people ages 21 and older in the state can legally possess and use cannabis for recreational purposes. Michigan voters approved the initiative in November with 56 percent of the vote. Michigan’s Proposal 1 allows for the possession and […]
