MRA - CRA

Effective April 13, 2022, the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency has a new name—the Cannabis Regulatory Agency. On February 11, 2022, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order No. 2022-1, which made a number of significant changes to various Michigan administrative agencies.  

Notably, the Executive Order re-named the Marijuana Regulatory Agency to the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (“CRA”) and transferred the regulation and oversight of industrial hemp processing from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (“MDARD”) to CRA. Regulatory oversight and licensure of industrial hemp cultivation will remain with MDARD. …
Continue Reading Agency Name Change: Meet the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency

Earlier this month, a cannabis company located in Manistee, Michigan, announced that its dispensary workers successfully unionized, marking the first instance of organized labor in the state’s cannabis industry. The company’s dispensary workers are now members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 876. While Michigan has a long history of unionized workforces, this is a new development for the state’s cannabis industry. Industry employers should take note of some key considerations when managing a union shop.[1]…
Continue Reading Organized Labor Rolls Up To The Michigan Cannabis Industry

On March 24, 2022, the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) announced record-breaking sales numbers in Michigan’s adult-use industry for the previous year. In just the second full year of licensed adult-use marijuana operations, the MRA reported that sales of adult-use marijuana exceeded $1.1 billion for fiscal year 2021.

Local governments are set to receive tens of millions of dollars thanks to the revenue-sharing provisions in the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (“MRTMA”). The MRTMA establishes a 10% excise tax on the retail sale of adult-use marijuana. Excise tax revenues are dedicated to Michigan schools and roads, and a significant portion is distributed to local municipalities and counties that have adult-use marijuana retailers and microbusinesses in their jurisdictions. …
Continue Reading Michigan Adult-Use Marijuana Sales Exceed $1B in 2021, Creating Millions of Dollars for Schools, Municipalities, and Roads

On February 15, 2022, the Michigan House Committee on Regulatory Reform considered HB 5706. The Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (“MRTMA”) does not address how Michigan’s Native American tribes participate in Michigan’s adult-use marijuana industry. HB 5706 creates a pathway for state-licensed and tribally licensed establishments to purchase from and sell to one another. …
Continue Reading Michigan Legislature Addresses Native American Tribes in New Marijuana Legislation

This month, the Michigan Board of Canvassers approved a ballot initiative that asks the people of Michigan to decriminalize certain psychedelic plants and fungi. Titled the “Michigan Decriminalization of Psilocybin Mushrooms and Other Plants and Fungi Initiative,” (the “Initiative”) the proposal seeks to have Michigan join the ranks of states that have opened up their laws to allow for the use of naturally occurring psychedelics, sometimes called entheogens, and also proposes some interesting changes to the state’s drug laws that are not necessarily limited to psychedelic plants and fungi. The full text of the Initiative can be found here.

…
Continue Reading The Michigan Decriminalization of Psilocybin Mushrooms and Other Plants and Fungi Initiative Has Been Approved For Circulation As A Ballot Initiative