More than 800 licensed recreational marijuana dispensaries operate across Michigan, selling a range of intoxicating products that are tested and restricted to adults 21 years or older.
Yet for years, consumers have also been able to buy vapes, gummies and beverages at gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops that produce the “high” feeling associated with marijuana. These products are sold without age verification or mandatory testing.
That may soon change.
As part of a deal to reopen the federal government in November, strict rules for hemp products will outlaw THC (the compound that produces the “high” feeling) drinks, creams, gummies, oils and vapes when the legislation is set to go into effect in November 2026.
The provision will close a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed hemp-derived products containing THC to be sold. Hemp is a plant similar to marijuana that produces THC at a much lower level but its compounds — particularly CBD — can be chemically converted into other forms of THC.
Separately, the Michigan Senate passed legislation in December that, if signed into law, would crack down on the sale of unregulated, intoxicating hemp-derived products. These products would come under the authority of Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency and be subject to testing.
These products are especially popular in states that haven’t legalized marijuana but are still a big business in Michigan. The market for THCA (which is a nonintoxicating cannabinoid that can be converted into intoxicating THC) flower, vapes, edibles and beverages in Michigan is nearly a third of the size of the state’s legalized cannabis industry, according to Oregon-based Whitney Economics, a firm that provides data and analysis for the cannabis and hemp industries.
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