cannabis

State marijuana regulators hope to get emergency rules in place for Michigan’s recreational marijuana market this month.

Recreational marijuana use has been legal in Michigan since the passage of last year’s state ballot question. But recreational sales are still in limbo, as the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency works on the rules.  

Director Andrew Brisbo hopes to start taking applications for recreational cannabis businesses this fall.

This Tuesday, the way Michigan regulates the marijuana industry will undergo a change.

On March 1st, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) signed executive order 2019-7. The order created the Marijuana Regulatory Agency, within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). The agency will officially replace the Medical Marihuana Licensing Board this week.

2019 is expected to be a busy year for businesses looking to invest in Michigan’s yet to-be-regulated recreational marijuana industry.

Michigan voters approved recreational marijuana in November. Michigan is now one of nearly a dozen states that allow possession of cannabis for recreational purposes. 

U.S. border officials are reminding Michiganders it is still illegal to transport marijuana across the border, despite recreational cannabis being legal now in Canada.

Wednesday morning, Canada became the second and largest country with a legal national marijuana marketplace.  Uruguay was the first country to legalize recreational marijuana. 

Sales started just after midnight local time in Newfoundland, Canada's easternmost province.

The Michigan Board of Canvassers approved a petition Thursday to place an initiative on the state’s November ballot that would legalize marijuana possession and consumption for all adults 21 years and older.

The board ruled that the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol collected 277,370 valid signatures, more than the 252,523 signatures needed to make the ballot.

Medical marijuana growers in Lansing may soon have to register with city, if they use an “excessive” amount of electricity.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero is proposing an ordinance to require people who continuously use 5000 kilowatts of electricity to register with the city.   

“We have seen a number of cases where the growing equipment used to cultivate medical marijuana overloads the electrical circuits in the home,” says Bernero. “This, of course, creates a fire hazard.”