When occupational asthma killed Lorna McMurrey, it should have set off alarms industrywide. But nobody spoke up, even as thousands of workers remain exposed to the same hazards.

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Last week, Circle K announced that 10 of its Florida locations will house to-go dispensaries next year. Now, regulators are saying ‘not so fast’ as the deal still faces legal hurdles.

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The latest cannabis news out of Michigan shows that even government agencies need a rebrand sometimes.

Such is the case in Michigan, where the state’s governor Gretchen Whitmer announced last week that she has taken action “to consolidate the regulatory bodies within the State of Michigan that oversee cannabis and hemp processing, distribution, and sale to improve efficiency.”

As a result of the change, the state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency will be called the Cannabis Regulatory Agency from now on. 

The newly named agency will now regulate “the processing, distribution, and sale of both hemp and marijuana going forward,” according to a press release out of Whitmer’s office. 

Prior to the changes, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) regulated hemp, while the Marijuana Regulatory Agency––naturally––oversaw marijuana.

“Consolidating multiple government functions into the newly named Cannabis Regulatory Agency will help us continue growing our economy and creating jobs,” Whitmer, a first-term Democrat, said in a statement on Friday. “And to be blunt-safe, legal cannabis entrepreneurship, farming and consumption helps us put Michiganders first by directing the large windfall of tax revenue from this new industry to make bigger, bolder investments in local schools, roads, and first responders.” 

The restructuring comes via executive order from Whitmer, and is scheduled to take effect in 60 days. 

“Consolidating the regulation of the processing, distribution, and sale of marijuana and hemp into a single state agency will allow for more effective and efficient administration and enforcement of state laws relating to cannabis,” read the executive order. “The expertise of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development necessitates their continued regulation of the cultivation of hemp. Changing the organization of the executive branch of state government is necessary in the interests of efficient administration and effectiveness of government.”

According to the Detroit News, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency was also established through executive order in 2019, after Michigan voters approved a ballot initiative that legalized recreational pot use for adults in the 2018 election. The agency was also charged with overseeing both recreational and medicinal cannabis in the state (the latter has been legal there since 2008).

That executive order “abolished the Bureau of Marijuana Regulation, created in the wake of the legalization of recreational marijuana in November, and the Medical Marihuana Licensing Board, created under a 2016 law approved by the GOP-led Legislature,” according to the Detroit News, and also “delegated responsibility related to the cultivation and sale of industrial hemp to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.”

Lawmakers in Michigan offered up a series of bills late last year that would have imposed stiffer restrictions on the amount of cannabis a caregiver can grow, lowering the number of allowed plants from 72 to 24.

One of the sponsors of the bills, Republican state House Representative Jim Lilly, said the proposals were designed to give structure to an unregulated industry.

“Two-thirds of the market right now of cannabis in Michigan is unregulated and so what that means is the majority of that product can be untested,” Lilly said, as quoted by local television station WOOD TV. “So, for cancer patients, those with immunocompromised situations, getting access to a safe product is really important. Some of this untested product has been found to contain mold, pesticides, E. coli, salmonella.”

“New York just went through some of this work and they’ve done about 12 plants for six patients, compared to what I’ve proposed at 24, but our current law allows for 72, which for anyone who does any growing or cultivating cannabis knows is far more than six patients can possibly consume,” he added.

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The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission has spent the last 18 months crafting new rules to improve the state’s cannabis industry.

The OLCC announced in a December 28 press release that it would be implementing new cannabis rules that will take effect between 2022 and 2023. Steve Marks, OLCC executive director, addressed the need for these changes, expressing the desired outcome after the changes go live. 

“These rules try to balance a number of different concerns—consumer health and safety, interests of small and large operators in our industry and public safety concerns around loopholes in the Federal Farm Bill of 2018, and the illicit farm production taking place in Oregon,” Marks said. 

The source of these changes began with the approval of House Bill 3000 and Senate Bill 408. HB-3000 creates a foundation for limitations on “THC-laden hemp products from being sold unregulated in Oregon,” while SB-408 restructured penalties for licensees who violated the rules.

The press release also states that the violation categories that have been in place since 2016 are outdated, and the new rules plan to build off of the current industry landscape. Some of the new rules went into effect on January 1, 2022; however, other rules won’t immediately go live and will instead roll out from now through the beginning of 2023.

The OLCC notes that the “fading threat of Federal government action” due to the number of states that have legalized cannabis has also led to another rule change that restructures and reduces penalties for licensees who violate certain rules. OLCC Commissioner Matt Maletis admits that although it isn’t a perfect solution, it will still help the industry as a whole. “It may not make everybody happy, but it’s a pathway, and I think it solves a lot of the issues,” Maletis stated.

Rules will also be changing for consumers. After the new year begins, consumers will be able to purchase two ounces of usable cannabis (up from one). The amount of milligrams for edibles in particular will be increased from 50mg THC per package to 100mg THC, which will be eligible for sale after April 1, 2022. Additionally, “artificially derived cannabinoids” such as CBN or delta-8 products are now required to go through a review process to determine if they meet the standard of “New Dietary Ingredient,” with 18 months to ensure compliance.

Home delivery services will also be permitted in any city or county that allows it, and the OLCC is making plans to create a new section on its website to inform consumers about new delivery zones.

Marks concluded the press release with a reminder that there were many factors to these changes and the OLCC is confident it will improve the industry going forward. “We did listen to the public and did make significant changes to these rules, and I want to reiterate that we have come a very long way,” said Marks. “And this industry established success for Oregon. We are creating a successful business market, a successful consumer market. This is another big turn of progress.”

Oregon has met a variety of hurdles recently, including the still-thriving black market—so much that it was declared a state of emergency. However, legislation such as Senate Bill 893 is being crafted to combat illegal cultivation for the time being. Still, the state was also chosen to receive a $10 million grant to continue hemp research through the Global Innovation Center at Oregon State University. The grant program is known to be competitive, and Oregon researchers at OSU shared that they felt fortunate to be chosen among other elite institutions to receive the funds.

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Before squeezing cannabis potency, let’s lower alcohol content to marijuana levels.

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Growing green doesn’t mean you’re being environmentally-friendly. Learn how to make cannabis more sustainable with these ecological tips.

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Buyer beware: Illicit delta-8 THC vape cartridges may be setting America up for another VAPI lung crisis.

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