News and Information about the Business of Cannabis

Michigan Shuts Down Industrial Hemp Program That Now Reverts To USDA Control

GRAND HAVEN - Michigan has closed its industrial hemp program, leaving farmers to operate directly under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and signaling potentially significant changes for hemp cultivators and processors in the state. Under USDA...

Detroit Could Restrict Cannabis And e-Cigarette Ads

Detroit City Council members passed a resolution Tuesday that documents the harms posed by e-cigarette and marijuana use among youth as the council prepares to restrict where these products can be advertised in the city. In Detroit, ads for alcohol and...

Fluresh To Close Michigan Cannabis Grow, Lay Off 46

Fluresh LLC is closing down its $46 million 105,000-square-foot grow facility in Adrian and will be laying off 46 employees at the end of this month. The company, doing business as Tend.Harvest.Cultivate, couldn’t make the economics of the operation work as...

Adult-Use Cannabis Sales In Ohio Through Oct. 6 Top $109.5 Million

Oct 22, 2024 | Great Lakes Region

Ohio adults aged 21 and older purchased $11.1 million in recreational marijuana product from Oct. 6 through Saturday, pushing sales figures above the $100 million mark. Dispensaries have rung up a total of 1.4 million transactions totaling $109.5 million since...

Detroit City Council May Ban Cannabis Ads Near “Sensitive Properties”

Oct 20, 2024 | Feature, Great Lakes Region, Michigan

Detroit City Council is likely to consider restrictions on marijuana advertisements in the city. Council member Angela Whitfield Calloway is leading the proposed changes to city code that would prohibit marijuana advertisements from being within a 1,000-foot...

Army Bans ‘Increasingly Problematic’ Delta-8 THC In New Drug Policy Update

Oct 17, 2024 | National

The U.S. Army has updated its drug policies to crack down on the use of delta-8 THC, a synthetic form of THC made from hemp-derived CBD. The new policies aim to reduce the misuse of substances, including delta-8 THC, which the Army previously described as...

MDARD To Send The Industrial Hemp Program Back To USDA

Oct 17, 2024 | Great Lakes Region, Michigan

Michigan House Bill number 5977 would change the Industrial Hemp Program for Michigan growers. However, it does not change the requirements for Industrial Hemp Processors. While the wording in this Bill does not state the request to abolish the Michigan Industrial...

Pro-Cannabis Senators’ Seats At Stake In Upcoming Election Could Affect Future Of Cannabis Legalization

Oct 16, 2024 | National

Cannabis legalization continues to gain momentum across the U.S., with states like Minnesota, Delaware and Ohio embracing recreational in 2023 and 2024, while Florida prepares to vote on a similar measure in November. Despite widespread public...

Michigan Court Rules Marijuana Dealers Can Face Harsher Sentences Than Illegal Growers

Oct 16, 2024 | Great Lakes Region, Michigan

People committing similar large-scale marijuana crimes face very different penalties in Michigan. Dealers are eligible to serve up to 15 years in prison, while illegal growers of any size may only be charged with a misdemeanor, the state Court of Appeals clarified...

Mushroom Shaman Charged In $8 Million Fraud

Oct 16, 2024 | Great Lakes Region, Michigan

A shaman multiple aliases, a criminal record and a now-shuttered psychedelic mushroom church in Detroit has been arrested on federal fraud charges. “Shaman Shu,” as he refers to himself, is accused of masterminding a penny stock “pump-and-dump scheme” that defrauded...

Court Case That Could Change The Cannabis Industry Forever And How It Affects Rescheduling

Oct 15, 2024 | Feature, National

A groundbreaking court case filed in Massachusetts against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has captured the attention of the cannabis industry, promising to potentially reshape its future. The lawsuit challenges the federal government's classification of...

Cannabis CEOs Greet Harris’ Legalization Plans With Cautious Optimism

Oct 15, 2024 | National

In a bid to win the support of Black men, an electorate reportedly on the fence for voting for her, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, is promising federal legalization for cannabis. If elected, Harris plans to “break down...

September Michigan Cannabis Sales $266.9 Million, Down 10 Percent From August

Oct 15, 2024 | Feature, Great Lakes Region, Michigan

After record-breaking Michigan August cannabis sales, September sales plunged nearly 10 percent, the Cannabis Regulatory Agency announced Monday. By the numbers, September sales were $266.9 million versus $294 million in August, with just 1 percent purchased by...