Michigan

Detroit has joined the 79% of Michigan municipalities to opt-out of the adult-use cannabis industry, in return forfeiting their share of the state’s 10% excise tax imposed on adult-use sales.

Michigan regulators will begin accepting business license applications starting this Friday, November 1st.

Medical cannabis company Primitive, co-owned by former Detroit Lions Calvin Johnson and Rob Sims, announced a partnership with Harvard University to research medical cannabis as a treatment for CTE.

Michigan’s cannabis regulators have announced a plan to cut fees on cannabusinesses in 19 municipalities that were disproportionately affected by the plant’s prohibition, as per the legalization initiative approved by voters in 2016.

Emergency rules laying out adult-use cannabis regulations in Michigan have been released; under the new rules, delivery is allowed and adult-use business licenses will be cheaper and easier to acquire than medical cannabis licenses.

Only about half of Ohio’s registered medical cannabis patients have made a purchase at a state dispensary, with most patients saying they are deterred by high prices. In fact, for many patients, it’s cheaper to drive to a dispensary in Michigan.

Michigan companies in Detroit and Portage have received the state’s first cannabis delivery licenses. Delivery services, however, will only be available to patients who live in municipalities where cannabis sales are generally outlawed.

Green Cure Wellness Inc., a hopeful cannabis processing and dispensary facility in Detroit, has announced that it intends to offer free cannabis-related classes to individuals who have been previously convicted of cannabis crimes.

Unlicensed dispensaries in Michigan have been given yet another extension for licensure after dispensary owners successfully argued they were only denied a license because the state erroneously recorded its tax payments.

Michigan has added Cerebral Palsy and rejected Chronic Aggressive Behavior as qualifying conditions for medical cannabis.

The Governor of Michigan is dissolving the all-volunteer Marijuana Licensing Board and handing over regulation duties to a paid government agency that operates under the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

Due to new laws in Michigan after voters approved adult-use cannabis legalization last year, medical cannabis registration and renewal fees are expected to fall and there will be a decrease in the excise tax rate.

The new features for the medical cannabis registration portal will allow cards to be issued to patients much faster.

Legal protection that was afforded for much of fall 2018 has ended after a judge dismissed the final cannabis licensing lawsuit against the state.

The unofficial list contains 60 cities — but regulators expect more as the licensing and regulation process continues.