The members of our association ask the committee to support their industry by creating market stability as well as collaborative planning and thinking.
Kyle Davidson is the Michigan Advance reporter.
Nearly two week after Michigan legislators passed legislation imposing a tax of 24 percent on wholesale marijuana sales, the Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee has heard from witnesses on multiple bills that committee chair Jeremy Moss said would reduce the burden placed on the cannabis sector.
Two packages of bills will be considered on Wednesday. The first package limits the number of marijuana retail and provisioning center licenses. The second is aimed at the sale unregulated, intoxicating products made from hemp. Moss has noted that additional meetings about the bills are planned in the future.
Sen. Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) explained that the first package, Senate Bills 597 and 598, would cap licensing for marijuana retailers and licensing for wholesalers to one license per 10,000 residents in a municipality beginning January 1, 2026, similar to how the state regulates liquor sales.
Singh explained that no community with fewer then 10,000 residents should be without at least one licence.
The bill also allows current license holders the option to either renew or transfer their licenses.
The second set, Senate Bills 599–602, would create a regulatory framework for consumable hemp products in Michigan, Sen. Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia) explained, noting that intoxicating products made from hemp, including Delta-8 and other synthesized cannabinoids are being sold in Michigan gas stations, convenience stores and online without oversight or testing.
Both proposals received support from the Cannabis Regulatory Agency–which regulates Michigan’s adult-use cannabis industry–as well as several members of the state’s cannabis industry.
Derek Sova is the policy and legislation specialist at the agency. He said that one of the current challenges facing the agency involves the debate over marijuana versus hemp. The conversation, however, should focus on the intoxicating properties of a substance.
Conventionally the understanding is that hemp is a crop or a textile, Sova explained, with both Michigan and the federal government’s definition of hemp and marijuana allowing for the unregulated sale of products with large amounts of THC–the component in marijuana that is primarily responsible for its intoxicating effect.
They aren’t age-gated because they don’t meet the criteria for hemp. In Michigan, marijuana products are subject to testing. Sova stated that there are no restrictions regarding labeling.
Sova said that the package of bills would also deregulate non-consumable hemp used for textiles, building materials, and CBD-infused chewables.
“Under the law as it stands, to manufacture or sell a product, one must have a licence. Sova stated that in their opinion this doesn’t appear to be something that should be regulated.
Robin Schneider, Executive Director of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, offered her support to capping the licensing of marijuana retailers and provisioners. She noted that the oversupply of marijuana has caused wholesale prices to drop, and caused harm to all businesses along the supply chain.
Schneider stated that the growth of retail space has also led to complaints by communities about public nuisance, traffic problems and other issues.
Schneider explained that his members asked the committee for help in establishing market stability as well as collaborative and thought-out industry planning going forward so they could at least make business decisions that were based upon projections with predictability.
This association was also in favor of regulating hemp-based products that are intoxicating, pointing out that they are shipped from outside Michigan and not made by Michigan hemp farmers.
Schneider explained: “Not only are our Michigan hemp farmers being left behind and hurt in numerous ways, the current Michigan laws do not allow them to produce CBD-only products that can be consumed.”
Kyleigh Cumming of Kairos Labs (a cannabis testing laboratory) told the members of the Senate Agriculture Committee that the 2018 farm act, in which hemp was defined, had a loophole, that permitted the conversion from CBD into compounds like THC.
Cumming explained that the conversion process creates many harmful and unknown byproducts, as well as allowing for products to be marketed as “hemp-derived” and sold unregulated as intoxicating vapes.
Cumming conducted a survey of 15 vape pens purchased by people in several Southeast Michigan towns. The products were not traceable or lab tested, and no ID was required to confirm age. The lab detected 15 contaminants in the product samples, while all 15 samples had THC concentrations above the.3 % federally-recommended level.
Kimberly James of the City of Detroit, Director of Cannabis Affairs, called for the legislation to have more teeth to enable local authorities to act when hemp-based products that are intoxicating are sold in unlicensed places.
“The [Cannabis Regulatory Agency] The current enforcement of laws is not effective. [Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act] James added that enforcement of the law would be difficult against non-licensees. “I wouldn’t anticipate it to enforce this act on anyone who is not licensed as a consumable hemp producer,” James explained. Local governments should have the power to immediately stop this practice when THC is clearly stated on products in regular stores.
Polehanki promised to work with James to ensure these changes were made, saying the legislation is “no good unless these products can be taken off the market.”
Blain Becktold is the founder of iHemp Michigan. The group represents Michigan hemp producers, manufacturers and businesses. Members of the organization support denying the sale or restricting products which could be harmful when consumed or purchased. However, they disagree with the definition of hemp, as cannabis containing less than 0.3 percent of THC. They cite a federal initiative to raise this threshold to one percent.
It’s really not for the sake of making more intoxicating product. This is for the sake of safety, both to the farmers and growers. They will lose all their time, effort, money, etc. if the plant gets too hot and goes over.3 percent. Becktold stated that if we had a 1 percent rate, this problem would not exist.
Cassin Coleman from Cannabis Consumer Advocacy expressed concern over the proposed regulation, noting the limitations on THC in nonintoxicating Hemp products that would reduce access to products for individuals who use them medically.
Coleman stated that the products patients use consistently, which are CBD products do contain THC. These products are full spectrum, meaning they have all of the components found in the cannabis plants.
Coleman warns that by removing or limiting the THC content in these products other important plant proteins, cannabinoids, and antioxidants will be lost.
Michigan Advance was the first to publish this article.