The Marijuana Regulatory Agency has cut a major supply chain of pot to the recreational market.
The agency has issued an order saying that recreational marijuana retailers can no longer buy cannabis products produced by caregivers, the network of growers who have been growing pot since medical marijuana became legal in 2008.
These growers account for roughly 60% of the medical and recreational marijuana being sold in licensed shops across Michigan. They were supposed to be able to continue to supply both the medical and recreational side of the market until Oct. 1, a time period the state said was designed to give licensed growers a cushion of time to grow and harvest enough pot to feed both the medical and recreational markets.
But the MRA, in an abrupt bulletin last week, said only the medical side of the market can now buy and sell caregiver product.
“Effective April 8, 2020, the MRA will not permit caregiver-produced or derived product to enter the adult-use market,” the bulletin read.