To help you stay on top of any big cannabis news for Michigan, we collected what we feel cannabis business owners and stakeholders need to be aware of so you don’t have to spend your time searching out information that matters to you and your business.
Michigan Marijuana Sales Continue To Climb!
Andrew Brisbo, the Executive Director of Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency took to Twitter to share the good news that July was another record-breaking month for marijuana sales in the state.
According to Brisbo, Michigan saw $128 million in adult-use sales – a month-over-month increase of $21 million – and $43 million in medical sales – an increase of $1 million over June’s sales.
According to Brisbo’s MRA colleague David Harns, July sales generated $10.2 million in sales tax for the state, as well as $12.8 million in excise taxes that go directly to roads, schools, municipalities, and counties. Needless to say, this is all revenue that the state can surely use.
Hopefully, some of that money can go to fixing Michigan’s electrical grid as the state suffered a number of power outages during August, leading not only to a lot of added stress for residents but surely led to lost sales for a number of businesses.
The MRA Released Updated Rules for the Immature Plant Sales Approval Process
The Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency released an advisory on rule changes dealing with the transfer or sale of immature plants to marijuana sales locations as well as administrative requirements for licensed cultivators and licensed sales locations that are preparing to sell immature plants. The complete breakdown of the new rules can be found here. If you have any questions, we’re just a phone call away.
The MRA Approved List of Ingredients for Growers Was Updated
The MRA also released a new list of approved active ingredients for growers. This new list was released on August 3 and supersedes the December 2020 list, adding the Howler biological fungicide Pseudomonas chlororaphis strain AFS009. A complete list of approved active ingredients for growers can be found here.
Be sure to follow this list carefully, as using unapproved ingredients can result in fines for cannabis operations, license suspension, or even an order to cease operations. If you have any issues, contact our Law Office immediately and we will help you work through them.
MRA Released a Technical Bulletin Concerning Compliant Creation of Inhalable Compound Concentrate Products and Raw Pre-Rolls
On August 18, the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency put out a bulletin that looks to clarify some questions about the creation of inhalable compound concentrate products and raw pre-rolls.
The MRA’s bulletin makes it clear that inhalable compound concentrate products are any products that combine one or more marijuana concentrate products with inhalable products that will be sold as inhalable products in dispensaries. If you are creating inhalable compound concentrate products, they must be tested in their final form before they can be sold.
The addition of concentrate products to pre-rolls or to inhalable compound concentrate products is not allowed. If the adhesive of the pre-roll contains marijuana concentrate, it must be tested in its final form before it can be sold.
When creating raw pre-rolls, it is important to remember that pre-rolls may not be made with mixed strains. The MRA bulletin also makes it clear that adding hemp flower, CBD concentrate, or any other product except for the paper wrap to a raw pre-roll is not permitted. It is also unacceptable to add kief to pre-rolls that are not from the same strain and harvest batch as the flower and sales locations are not permitted to add kief to raw pre-rolls.
Raw pre-rolls must be tested if the added kief comes from the same strain and harvest batch as the flower. The full bulletin can be found here. While the MRA’s clarifications help make things a little easier to understand, if you still have questions, contact our office and we will help you get the answers you need.
What the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act Could Mean for You
You may have seen that in July, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act. Along with expunging federal non-violent marijuana crimes and reinvesting federal tax revenue collected from the sale of cannabis into communities that have been most affected by the “War on Drugs”, this bill would also end the federal prohibition of cannabis, removing it from the Schedule 1 controlled substance list under the Controlled Substances Act.
Schumer’s legislation, which was written with input from Cory Booker and Ron Wyden, would also transfer agency jurisdiction of cannabis from the DEA to the FDA, TTB, and ATF, putting cannabis on the same level as alcohol and tobacco and placing an age restriction on the sale of cannabis to anyone under the age of 21 and limiting sales to no more than 10 ounces.
While the legislation has not been put up to a vote in the Senate yet, Schumer is hoping to have the bill finalized by September 1, which suggests he is looking to bring it to the Senate Floor sooner rather than later. When the final bill is released, we will be sure to let you know what is in it and how it may affect you.