When it comes to cannabis licenses, every state has its own statutory and regulatory quirks that create traps for the unwary.  In Michigan, one is the Marijuana Regulatory Agency’s (“MRA’s”) strained interpretation of the limit on the number of grower licenses a person may hold under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (“MRTMA”).

Section 9 of MRTMA prohibits the MRA from issuing a license if doing so would mean that “a person who holds an ownership interest in the marihuana [business] . . . will hold an ownership interest in more than 5 marihuana growers.” MRTMA defines the term “marihuana grower” as “a person [or entity] licensed to cultivate marihuana.”  But in applying Section 9’s limitation, MRA interprets the term “grower” to mean a singular grow license.…
Continue Reading Michigan Regulator’s Odd Limit on Grow Licenses

On November 17, 2021, the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) issued a recall of cannabis products that were tested at Viridis Laboratories, LLC and Viridis North, LLC between August 10, 2021, and November 16, 2021. The full impact at this point is still unknown. On November 23, 2021, Viridis Laboratories, LLC and Viridis North, LLC commenced a lawsuit against the MRA and some of its officials to challenge the MRA’s recall. The suit alleges that the scope of the recall covers nearly 65,000 pounds of cannabis flower worth nearly $230M.
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Continue Reading Retesting Requirements if Impacted by the Michigan Cannabis Recall

On Monday, September 27, 2021, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency (“MRA”) held a public hearing to receive comments on a series of proposed changes to the administrative rules that govern medical and adult-use marijuana businesses. We previously covered an overview of the proposed changes in our five-part blog series in the days leading up to public hearing. The proposed rules concern significant changes to the following rule sets: licenses, licensees, operations, testing, infused products, sale or transfer, employees, hearings, disciplinary proceedings, and declaratory rulings.

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Continue Reading Marijuana Regulatory Agency Holds Public Hearing On Proposed Administrative Rule Changes

Operators in state-legal cannabis industries are confronted with a myriad of tax challenges, as we have previously discussed. As a result, opportunities for tax savings for state-legal cannabis businesses are often few and far between. However, Michigan law provides sales and use tax exemptions that cannabis growers and processors may be eligible to receive that could provide significant tax savings and even the prospect of a refund for previously paid sales or use taxes.
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Continue Reading Michigan Cannabis Cultivators and Processors Have Opportunity for Sales Tax Savings and Refunds

On Monday, September 27, Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency will hold a public hearing on draft administrative rules updating all of the State’s current cannabis-related rules other than for hemp. The deadline to provide written public comments is that Monday at 5:00 PM.

In a six-part series, we outline the substantive proposed changes in each of ten draft rule sets and then will conclude with coverage of next week’s hearing. Today, we cover the rule sets for Marihuana Hearings (Rules 420.701 to 420.709), Marihuana Disciplinary Hearings (Rules 420.801 to 420.808a), and the brand new proposed set for Marihuana Declaratory Rulings (Rules 420.821 to 420.823). Rules without substantive changes are not included.

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Continue Reading Proposed New Michigan Cannabis Rules V: Hearings, Disciplinary Proceedings, And Declaratory Rulings