Connect with us

Cannabis News

Michigan Senators Weigh Marijuana Regulatory Reform Bills To Aid Industry Reeling From New Tax Increase

Published

2 months ago

on

“Our members are calling on this commission to help our industry create market stability and advance thoughtful and collaborative industry planning.”

By Kyle Davidson, Michigan Advance

Almost two weeks after Michigan lawmakers took office Legislation that imposes a 24 percent tax on wholesale marijuanaMembers of the Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee heard testimony on several bills that committee chairman Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) said were aimed at reducing the regulatory burden on the cannabis industry.

Two bills were considered Wednesday, one limiting the number of licenses for marijuana dealers and supply centers, and another aimed at cracking down on the sale of unregulated intoxicating hemp products, though Moss indicated there would be additional meetings on the bills in the future.

Sen. Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) unveiled the first package, the Senate Bills 597 and 598Starting Jan. 1, 2026, it would limit marijuana dealer licenses and wholesale licenses per 10,000 residents in a municipality, similar to how the state regulates liquor sales.

Singh said communities with a population of less than 10,000 would always have at least one license.

In addition, current license holders can renew their licenses or transfer them to another person.

Second set, Senate bills 599–602It would create a regulatory framework for consumer hemp products in Michigan, Sen. Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia) explained, citing that intoxicating products made from hemp, including Delta-8 and other synthetic cannabinoids, are being sold at 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 cannabis industry, as well as support from several members of the state’s cannabis industry.

Derek Sova, the agency’s policy and legislative specialist, said one of the agency’s challenges is marijuana versus hemp, when debating whether a substance is intoxicating or not.

Hemp is commonly understood to be either a crop or a tissue, Sova explained, with both Michigan and the federal government’s definitions of hemp and marijuana allowing the unregulated sale of products containing high amounts of THC, the marijuana component primarily responsible for its intoxicating effect.

“Because of the way it’s defined, they’re considered hemp, and because of that, they’re not age-appropriate. There’s no testing requirement, like there is in Michigan with marijuana products. There’s no labeling restrictions,” Sova said.

In addition to establishing a regulatory framework for non-toxic consumable hemp products, such as CBD-infused gummies and intoxicating hemp products, Sova said the bill package would regulate the sale of non-consumable hemp, which is used to make textiles and building materials.

“Right now, under the current law, you have to get a license to do that, a license to sell that. We don’t think that should be regulated,” Sova said.

Robin Schneider, executive director of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, offered support for limiting licenses for marijuana suppliers and retailers, saying unlimited marijuana cultivation licenses have led to oversupply, lowered wholesale prices and harmed businesses throughout the supply chain.

Additionally, the proliferation of retail space has led to public nuisance concerns, traffic problems and community complaints, Schneider said.

“Our members are calling on this committee to help our industry create market stability and thoughtful, collaborative industry planning to make business decisions based on projections that at least include predictability,” Schneider said.

The association also supported the regulation of intoxicating hemp products, noting that these products are being shipped out of state to Michigan and are not being produced by Michigan hemp farmers.

“Not only have our hemp farmers been left out and harmed in many ways, current legislation does not allow them to manufacture hemp products for CBD-only consumption in Michigan,” Schneider said.

Kyleigh Cumming, lab director at Kairos Labs, a cannabis testing lab, told committee members that the 2018 farm bill defining hemp created a loophole that allowed CBD to be converted into THC-like compounds.

“These conversion processes create many dangerous and unknown byproducts along the way, while allowing the resulting products to be labeled as hemp-derived and sold in Michigan as an unregulated intoxicant,” Cumming said.

In a study of 15 vape products purchased in various southeast Michigan communities, Cumming said the products had no lab test results or traceability, and when purchasing the products, no one asked for ID to verify age. When the products were tested, the lab found 15 contaminants, and all 15 samples detected the THC levels of 0.3 percent set by the federal government.

While offering support for additional regulations on hemp products, City of Detroit cannabis director Kimberly James called for more teeth in the bill to allow local governments to take action when intoxicating hemp products are sold in unlicensed locations.

“(The Cannabis Regulatory Agency) does not currently enforce violations of the (Michigan Regulation and Marijuana Tax Act) against non-licensees, and I would not expect them to enforce violations of this act against anyone who is not a licensed consumer hemp processor,” James said. “Local governments should have the authority to stop this practice immediately when the products are in a regular store and explicitly state that they contain THC.”

Polehanki promised to work with James to make sure those changes were made, saying the legislation “isn’t good unless we take these products off the market.”

Blain Becktold, founder of iHemp Michigan, which represents hemp farmers, manufacturers and businesses across the state, said the group’s members supported denying or limiting the sale of products that could be harmful to purchase or consumption, but he refused to define hemp as hemp with less than 0.3 percent THC, pointing to a federal push to increase the 1 percent to 1 percent.

“That’s not to make more toxic products. That’s really for the safety of growers and farmers. If they invest that time, money and effort into farming, and it warms over .3, they’ve lost all of that. 1 percent we wouldn’t have that problem,” Becktold said.

Cassin Coleman of Cannabis Consumer Advocacy also expressed concern about the proposed regulations, noting that limiting THC in non-intoxicating hemp products would limit access to certain products that individuals use for medical purposes.

“As is often the case, the products that patients use consistently, which are CBD products, contain THC,” Coleman said, noting that these products contain THC because they are “full spectrum,” meaning they contain the full range of compounds that occur in the cannabis plant.

Trying to remove or limit the amount of THC in these products would remove other important cannabinoids, plant proteins and antioxidants, Coleman said, warning that these products could be ineffective.

This story was first published by the Michigan Advance.

Marijuana Moment is made possible with the help of readers. If you rely on our pro-cannabis journalism to stay informed, consider a monthly Patreon pledge.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Cannabis News

HoneyGrove Dispensary selivers affordable small-batch flower to patients amid push for MMJ reform

Published

7 hours ago

on

December 7, 2025

By











HoneyGrove Dispensary has partnered with Ewing-based medical cannabis company Noble Valley Harvest Company to offer small-batch flowers at reduced prices to medical marijuana patients.

Half ounces are available for $75 and full ounces are available for $125, with no sales tax applied to cardholder purchases. HoneyGrove waives sales tax on adult-use transactions for patients with a valid medical card to support patient access.

Within NJ’s three-ounce monthly purchase limit, cardholders can get $100 off multiple ounce purchases.

© Rey Fernandez

The initiative addresses ongoing concerns about affordability in New Jersey’s medical marijuana program, which has drawn criticism for high costs and limited supply. By offering premium, small-batch products at prices associated with lower-quality options, HoneyGrove and Noble Valley aim to improve immediate patient access while advocating for broader program reforms.

“HoneyGrove and HoneyStash are committed to patient care by partnering with local growers,” said Dave Valese, CEO of HoneyProjects, the management company for both dispensaries. “This partnership with Noble Valley ensures that medical patients receive high-quality flower at affordable prices, supporting our broader efforts to improve New Jersey’s medical cannabis program.”

“Noble Valley Harvest is producing small-batch cannabis for the New Jersey market,” said Dr. Lisa Grega, founder of Noble Valley Harvest Company. “We’re excited to give medical patients first access to help boost a market that’s shrinking in size and selection.”

For more information:
Honey Projects
honey-projects.com



Publication date:













Continue Reading

Cannabis News

Ohio Senate Expected To Vote On Bill Recriminalizing Some Marijuana Activity That Voters Legalized

Published

7 hours ago

on

December 7, 2025

By

“You can be charged with a felony for having legal weed in a package other than what you bought it from. You can be charged with a felony for buying legal weed in Michigan.”

By Jake Zuckerman, Signal Cleveland

It was this story originally posted By Signal Cleveland. Sign up for their free newsletter at SignalCleveland.org/subscribe.

A new law to be passed in the Statehouse next week would establish a series of juveniles Criminal penalties for persons illegally transporting or possessing marijuana in Ohiowhile withdrawing legal protections for users, such as child custody or professional license disputes.

That’s why NORML, the oldest marijuana advocacy organization in the US, is leading a quixotic effort to urge the Ohio Senate to reject Senate Bill 56 before a final vote next week.

With Senate approval, the bill would go to Gov. Mike DeWine (R) for his signature or veto.

The marijuana changes are part of a larger package that also establishes a new, comprehensive regulatory system for the intoxicant hemp, a product functionally similar to legal marijuana, but sold without age restrictions, taxes or quality controls. DeWine, a Republican who opposed relaxing Ohio’s marijuana laws, has been making public the issue of hemp more than a year ago.

But perhaps due to a political compromise, marijuana users have been caught up in the crackdown on hemp, according to Morgan Fox, NORML’s political director.

“A lot of this stuff is completely nonsensical,” he said in an interview. “This is recriminalizing a lot of behavior that is relatively innocent and has been legal for a long time.”

House and Senate lawmakers negotiated the final version of the legislation in a conference committee, which means the bill cannot be changed. The House passed it last month by a 52-34 vote last night, with a handful of Republicans joining Democrats in opposition.

Committee members described the final version as a compromise between mixed blocs of voters: Democrats who don’t want new criminal penalties for regular users, Republicans who support the right to grow marijuana, religious conservatives who oppose the expansion of legal use of the intoxicant, local governments who want their money to ruin a gas station. retailers, and both the hemp and marijuana industries seeking market advantages. (In all, 153 lobbyists signed up to work on the bill in August, state records show.)

In 2023, Ohio voters passed Issue 2 by 57 percent to 43 percent, allowing adults to legally use, buy, sell and possess cannabis. Those rights remain intact under the bill.

However, SB 56 imposes legal penalties for not having marijuana in its original container or buying legal marijuana in Michigan, where it is usually much cheaper.

Below is a closer look at some of these rules.

Out-of-state marijuana

SB 56 reclassifies what counts as the “legalization scope” of marijuana. And under its rules, marijuana that isn’t grown at home or purchased at a state dispensary is illegal. Prices are much lower in Michigan’s more mature cannabis market, and SB 56 would make it illegal to bring the substance back into Ohio.

Violators can be charged with a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine of $150, but no jail time.

Fox, the state lobbyist for NORML, said he is not aware of any adult-use states that outlaw the simple possession of cannabis produced in another state.

Driving with marijuana in the car

Under the bill, drivers could legally transport marijuana. However, it must be stored in the trunk or, in cars without a trunk, behind the last upright seat of the car. Marijuana and any paraphernalia must also be stored in its “original, unopened container.”

Likewise, edibles must be kept in their original packaging to complete the bill.

Offenses are minor fouls.

“You can be charged with a felony for having legal weed in a package other than the one you bought it from,” Bride Rose Sweeney, one of the top Democratic negotiators in the House, said at the conference. “You can be charged with a felony for buying legal Michigan weed.”

Loss of legal protections

In addition to legalizing marijuana, the voter-approved 2023 law created legal protections for adults who use marijuana in many civil and administrative contexts.

For example, state licensing boards cannot penalize licensees solely for using marijuana. A judge cannot deprive a parent of parenting time or responsibilities based solely on marijuana use and absent clear and convincing evidence of the child’s lack of safety.

Similar protections exist in relation to access to medical care, such as organ donation, in relation to denying a person as a tenant or disqualifying them from public benefits.

The bill removes almost all of these protections, although users can access public benefits (except unemployment compensation).

Marijuana Moment is made possible with the help of readers. If you rely on our pro-cannabis journalism to stay informed, consider a monthly Patreon pledge.

Continue Reading

Cannabis News

The forgotten story behind autoflowering cannabis

Published

1 day ago

on

December 6, 2025

By

Many of the things that are common in modern cannabis come from a time when curiosity about the plant could lead to real problems. With the market now dominated by hybrid genetics, it is a common belief that it is almost impossible to bring anything back to an original cultivar. However, many of these initial building blocks came from the first wave of cannabis exploration, when a handful of growers traveled across continents in search of unique local varieties. Nevil Schoenmakers was one of them, and what he spotted on the side of a highway during a trip to Turkey left a mark on the history of cannabis that has never been erased.

On the way to Turkey
Dwight Diotte of D9 Canna Consulting still remembers those early years. A time when the modern industry was just an idea and the world of cannabis lived in the shadows between one country and another. Everyone in that circle followed clues more than maps, and it all felt like a treasure hunt with pocket knives and curiosity.

So how did cannabis ruderalis enter the cannabis world. The story begins with a road trip. Nevil was moving through Eastern Europe on one of his journeys to find his seed when he saw something strange on a highway in Hungary. The plants, already in flower, stand out against the July heat. He stopped so suddenly that his car screeched. Then he ran across like someone who had just seen a myth pass by.

© Dwight Diotte

He took some branches and dried them in the car heater. He soon realized that what he found was something special. He paused again, and turned around. Turkey could wait. What he had just discovered demanded attention, “and perhaps saved him from a more dangerous detour,” Dwight notes. The Cold War was still very real and the borders of that region were not yet friendly to roving plant hunters.

Sparking the seeds of something new
By the time Dwight saw Nevil the following year in the Netherlands, the seeds of the mystery were already on the table. They were tiny, dark and impossible to germinate with the usual tricks. Dwight remembers gently cracking the pebbles and soaking them as Nevil thought animals might do in the wild. “It felt less like horticulture and more like archaeology,” Dwight recalls.

Once they sprouted, the surprise came quickly. These were no ordinary plants. They went from seed to flower oblivious to the light of day and seemed determined to complete their cycle, encouraged or not. The concept of autoflowering did not yet exist. “Nevil saw the plants blooming on the fifth or seventh node and understood that something new was on the table.”

This was the birth of the modern ruderalis work, although at the time no one was thinking in neat categories. “We were trying to understand what we found.”

Claiming ownership
Dwight wandered between Canada and Europe during those years and witnessed it all. He helped raise funds for what would later become the famous Cannabis Castle, watched the early grow in action and watched Nevil push ruderalis as far as he could before returning to his passion for long-flowering cannabis. “The Finola project was created in the mid-90s and its founders claimed credit for the autoflowering breakthrough, even though the genetics went back to the same region that Nevil had explored, if not the same plants as Nevil himself,” Dwight said.

Everyone involved in that era seemed to reinvent themselves every season. The seed companies changed their names. Growers moved between projects. Some developed legendary cultivars. Others disappeared completely from public life. Through it all, Nevil remained a figure who kept one foot in research mode and the other in business reality. When the Dutch tightened regulations in the nineties, the landscape changed again, and a series of legal dramas followed across continents. “A few years later the dust settled and life moved on, but the seeds of his legacy had already been planted.”

According to Dwight, many of the fog lines that dominate the shelves today have their origins in Nevil. “It’s the same in the autoflowering category. Even after turning his attention away from ruderalis, he produced work that breeders talk about in low tones and reverence.”

Heritage
Dwight still grows ruderalis for fun. He says that plants teach him things. He says that even after forty years they still amaze him. “Nevil Schoenmakers always worked with what he found and let the plants say what they wanted to be. But the evidence is hard to ignore. When the first little black seeds were opened in Hungary, the industry of the future cracked with them. And even today, every time an autoflower appears on a legal shelf anywhere in the world, a small part of that moment is still on the side of the road in Eastern Europe.”

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending

Copyright © 2021 The Art of MaryJane Media