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Moratorium proposed on new cannabis grower licenses to address plummeting prices

By Steve N eavling

SHUTTERSTOCK

LOBBYISTS FOR MICHIGAN’S

larges t cannabis oper ations are calling on law m aker s to im pose a m oratorium on new grow er s to hel p prev en t prices from continuing to plum m et in the rec rea tional m arket .

T he proposed m oratorium w ould prev en t the M ichigan C annabis R eg ulatory A gen cy (C R A ) from approving new grow er licen ses .

Prices for leg al cannabis have hit alltim e low s in M ichigan, largel y because the m arket is saturated. A s a res ult, grow er s and dispen saries are often sel l ing thei r products at or bel ow cost, and som e busines ses are closing dow n.

T he aver age price for an ounce of adult-use flower dropped from more than $512 in January 2020 to $117 in A ugust, a 77.1% dec line, according to the C R A . D uring the sam e per iod, nea rly 1.5 m illion cannabis plants w er e grow ing, com pared to about 400,000 a yea r ea rlier .

T he num ber of active grow er licen ses surged 65% bet w een July 2021 and July 2022.

To im pose a m oratorium on new grow er s, three -quarter s of M ichigan leg islators w ould need to vote in favor of the proposal. T hat’s bec ause the 2018 ballot proposal to leg alize rec rea tional cannabis called for unlim ited licen ses .

It’s too ea rly to tel l w het her the proposal has en ough support from law m aker s.

T hose in the leg al cannabis industry are divided .

T he M ichigan C annabis M anufacturer s A ssociation, w hich rep res en ts cannabis busines ses , says a m oratorium could harm the industry.

“W hile the M C M A has not taken a form al position on this issue, a grow li cense m oratorium could actually disrupt M ichigan’s burgeoning cannabis m arket at a critical juncture,” M C M A Board C hair Shelly Edgerton tells M etro T im es. “T he M C M A has constructive solutions to help im prove our grow ing industry that look at the bigger picture.”

C iting a study that found nearly tw othirds of all cannabis com es from the illicit m arket in M ichigan, Edgerton says the state could address the plum m eting prices by “cracking dow n on the illicit m arket and ram ping up enforcem ent statew ide.”

B y doing so, the dem and for leg al m arijuana w ould increa se.

“T his avalanche of illicit and poten tially unsafe cannabis also threa ten s to des tabilize our industry, putting jobs, busines ses and opportunities at risk,” Edger ton says. “T her e is also a grow ing num ber of licen sed cannabis oper ators providing illicit or untes ted product.”

T he M C M A has also called for a crackdow n on m ed ical m arijuana careg iver s w ho grow cannabis at hom e for patients, arguing that the products are untes ted and unsafe. A ctivists have called for a boycott of busines ses rep res en ted by the M C M A , saying ther e is little ev iden ce to sugges t that untes ted careg iver -grow n cannabis poses a ser i ous public hea lth risk.

A t the C R A ’s quarter ly m eet ing last m onth, m ost peo ple w ho spoke during the public com m en t per iod agreed ther e’s too m uch cannabis in the rec re ational m arket .

R obin Schnei der , ex ec utive direc tor of the M ichigan C annabis Industry A ssociation, w hich rep res en ts m ore than 400 businesses , said a m ajority of her m em ber s support a m oratorium on grow er licen ses bec ause sm all busines ses can’t survive in this en vironm en t.

B ut if a m oratorium is im posed , she said, it’s im portant that it can be lifted if supply dec lines and dispen saries have trouble stocking thei r shel ves .

A m oratorium w ould spel l trouble for Detroit, which is nally beginning to is sue licen ses to cannabis busines ses . N o adult-use cannabis grow er s curren tly have a licen se in M ichigan’s larges t city.

C R A spokes m an D avid H arns says the agen cy does n’t take positions on m oratorium s and w ill follow the path set by leg islators.

“O ur job is to im plem en t the statutes and that law s that are sen t our w ay,” H arns tel ls M et ro T im es . “If it’s det er m ined that this is the w ay that industry is going to go, w e of course w ill take the proper step s to im plem en t.”

Detroit cannabis dispensary suspended for 30 days after bags of untagged marijuana found

By Steve N eavling

MICHIGAN CANNABIS REG-

ULATORS suspended a m edical m arijuana dispensary in D etroit for 30 days and ordered it to pay a 5,000 ne after nding multiple bags lled with mari uana that did not contain the required state inform ation.

T he C annabis R egulatory A gen cy (C R A ) found the m arijuana in m ultiple bags, backpacks, and duffel bags at The ouse of ary Jane at 19154 Jam es C ouzens.

R egulators told the dispensary it could not sell or destroy the m arijuana until the agency com pleted its investigation, according to C R A ’s form al com plaint. T he agency also requested 30 days of video footage.

W hen the agency returned to T he H ouse of M ary Jane, the dispensary said it had destroyed the cannabis. T he dispensary also failed to turn over the video, ac cording to the C R A .

“T he C annabis R egulatory A gency has a legal responsibil ity to protect the health, safety, and w elfare of the public,” C R A spokesm an D avid H arns said in a statem ent. “O ur licensees m ust follow all of the rules and law s that govern the cannabis industry. U ntagged m arijuana products and the inability to provide video foot age is sim ply unacceptable.”

In M ichigan, cannabis business es are prohibited from possessing m arijuana w ithout a batch num ber or identi cation tag or label. T hey also m ust retain surveillance recordings for at least 30 days.

A ccording to the consent order, the dispensary m ust provide its standard operating procedures on com pliant tagging and w aste disposal processes before receiving its license back.

The ne and 0-day suspension is the stiffest penalty yet against a M ichigan dispensary.

W hen reached by M etro Tim es , T he H ouse of M ary Jane declined to com m ent.