Michigan has overtaken California as the largest cannabis market in the U.S., at least in terms of sales volume, according to data collected by multiple market intelligence firms. Both firms show Michigan surpassing California over the winter in cannabis product units sold.

Sales volume is the total number of units sold by a business over a specific period of time, such as units sold in a month, quarter, or year. A “unit” can mean several different things but in this case, it refers to a single or multipack cannabis item that is purchased, big or small.

But this is in terms of units, and California is still a larger cannabis market than Michigan in terms of dollars sold—by billions of dollars. California sold $5.1 billion in adult-use cannabis products in 2023, while Michigan sold about $3 billion in adult-use cannabis products.

Prices for cannabis products are much cheaper in Michigan compared with California due to recent oversupply issues in the Great Lakes State. That means that even if consumers buy more products in Michigan, the total amount they spend is less than what they’re paying in California.

Detroit Free Press reports that since December 2022, Michigan has sold more total grams of flower and units of other cannabis products, called equivalent unit sales, in both the adult-use and medical cannabis markets compared with California, according to data collected by BDSA, a cannabis market intelligence firm that tracks sales via point-of-sale data from a panel of participating cannabis retailers.

But it’s not just BDSA making these claims: Headset, another cannabis market intelligence firm that’s recognized in the cannabis community, compiled data showing that Michigan sold more units than California. Headset defines units as a single item that a customer buys, such as a pre-rolled joint, a multipack of pre-rolled joints, an ounce or one gram, since June 2023. Headset’s data indicates that in May, Michigan sold 24.2 million units, compared to California selling 17.3 million units.

“There are a lot of issues on the ground in California … it’s always been expensive to do business there,” Michael Arrington, a principal analyst at Colorado-based BDSA, said on a BDSA market forecast update webinar in March.

According to BDSA data, Michigan sold 56.8 million equivalent units of cannabis products in April, compared with 44.6 million in California during the same month.

In terms of units sold, BDSA arrived at slightly different numbers than Headset, however both firms found that Michigan was selling more units of cannabis products than California in recent months, such as in February and March. Michigan’s unit sales first passed California’s in December, BDSA data shows.

This could mean more Californians are buying in bulk or in larger units while Michiganders are buying cannabis in smaller units. 

In Michigan, prices for cannabis plunged after adult-use cannabis sales started because of an oversupply problem, which led to lower prices for consumers but tougher margins for cannabis retailers. 

Michigan Sales On Steady Climb

A recent set of data released by the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) shows that the state has once again set a new record for adult-use cannabis sales.

According to the CRA, the state collected $286.8 million in adult-use cannabis sales in March, which made up for 99% of all sales. In terms of product popularity, flower still reigns supreme with $131.4 million in sales. A total of $54.4 million was sold in vape cartridges, as well as $33.9 million in inhalable concentrates, and finally edibles at $26.3 million.

The CRA splits Michigan up into five distinct regions: upper lower/upper peninsula, mid lower, southwest, east/southeast, and Wayne.

Among these regions, the east/southeast region collected the most in total adult-use cannabis sales with $128,929,767, followed by $79,432,048 in the southwest region, $31,845,920 in Wayne, $29,373,053 in upper lower/upper peninsula, and lastly, $17,209,468 in the mid lower area.

In total medical cannabis sales, the southwest area led with $141,535, followed by Wayne with $945,992, east/southeast with $809,515, upper lower/upper peninsula with $81,273, and finally mid lower with $79,695.

The latest figures leave more questions than answers. Michigan’s population is about a quarter of the size of California’s population, and California’s history of a medical and adult-use cannabis market stretches back further than Michigan’s. But the prices of pot play a large part in the outcome of units sold in both markets,

Michigan’s fifth anniversary of adult-use cannabis sales in the state is coming up, and the state is proving its viability, even compared to California’s enormous market.

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A new law in Iowa governing hemp products has drawn complaints from local brewers and retailers, with some even threatening legal action.

The measure, which was passed by Hawkeye State lawmakers in April and signed into law by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds last month, “prohibits the sale and possession of consumable hemp products that contain greater than 4 mg total THC per serving and greater than 10 mg total THC per container within the state of Iowa.”

As the state’s Department of Health and Human Services explains, Iowa’s medical cannabis program, which launched in 2018, “allows individuals with certain eligible conditions to access medical cannabis at five retail dispensaries,” as well as “the use of medical cannabis in four forms: oral (including tinctures, capsules, sublingual, and tablets), topical (including creams and gels), inhaled forms (including vaporized), and suppositories.”

But as the Des Moines Register points out, the proposed rules written by the department define “closed-container beverage” as “one serving per container — meaning every beverage with a potency of more than 4 mg of total THC would be banned from sale.”

According to the newspaper, local brewers in Iowa “argue that’s not what the law intended, and they warned that the rules could mean major cuts to their products,” and a “major manufacturer said if a resolution was not reached, it would consider legal action.”

“Only one of our products would be compliant, and we would lose products that account for about 80% of our sales,” Lua Brewing and Big Grove Brewery CEO Dave Moore told the Des Moines Register. “We would also have a very large inventory of finished goods and packaging materials that would no longer be usable. This ruling would have severe financial implications to our business.”

Moore’s brewing companies sell a THC-infused beverage that he says would be hurt by the new law.

“If we can’t find an amicable resolution that allows businesses to continue operating within the parameters set forth in the statute, we will take legal action as a last resort to protect our interests,” Moore added. “Again, we believe that we can work this out with HHS and the state without going through a legal process.”

When she signed the bill into law last month, Reynolds made it clear that she was uneasy about certain parts of the measure.

“I have concerns about this bill and have heard from individuals and groups on both sides of the issue,” said Reynolds. “Ultimately, I am signing it into law to protect minors from dangerous and intoxicating products. At the same time, we’ve taken steps to ensure that children who are resistant to medications and suffer from seizures and other medical conditions continue to have access to consumable hemp alternatives for relief.”

The bill was submitted to the Iowa legislature earlier this year by the state’s Department of Public Safety. 

“We’ve seen an emergence of high potency, high-THC products hit the market,” Josie Wagler, the Department of Public Safety’s legislative liaison, said at the time. “And coupled with that, there are no age restrictions for purchasing these products. So really the purpose is to get at that, and to give HHS and law enforcement some additional tools to help regulate these highly intoxicating products.”

The sale of the products was made possible by the legalization of hemp in the Farm Bill that was passed by Congress in 2018. That law prompted a number of other states to follow suit and draft their own laws governing the sale and cultivation of hemp-derived products.

But lawmakers said earlier this year that the reform led to some unintended consequences.

“We thought we were dealing with the intoxicating aspect, only to find out that there are ways to get around that,” state House Rep. Steve Holt, a Republican, said in February. “So it’s sort of the wild, wild west out there in a lot of ways, with THC-infused drinks being able to be served to minors, a lot of other things going on that are not acceptable.”

But the proposal inspired opposition from Iowa business owners and hemp growers from the beginning.

“Let’s look at what needs to be taken care of instead of just sweeping everybody under the rug,” Scott Booher, the owner of Four Winds Farms, told lawmakers at a hearing earlier this year. “We have patients that are kids, we have parents that buy our hemp products for their children. For ADD, for behavioral problems.”

The Des Moines Register reported this week that “breweries [in Iowa] have been in contact with HHS since the release of the draft rules, but it remains to be seen whether changes are made.”

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An Illinois bill to legalize hemp-derived cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC has stalled in the House of Representatives after lawmakers left the state capitol without passing the legislation that would have banned sales of the popular products. 

The measure was supported by many representatives of Illinois’ regulated marijuana industry who argue that unregulated hemp products give minors unfettered access to intoxicating substances and are a risk to consumers. Hemp advocates maintain, however, that the bill will destroy the fledgling industry and the small businesses it supports.

Jennifer Weiss, the owner of Chicago-based Cubbington’s Cabinet, a manufacturer and retailer of personal and pet CBD-infused products, said the bill jeopardizes the viability of the business.

“The bill is so restrictive it would outlaw almost everything in my store,” Weiss said, according to a report from local news.

Over the weekend, the Illinois Senate voted 54-1 to approve a bill that would have limited sales of hemp products that contain THC to licensed marijuana dispensaries. Democratic Senator Kimberly Lightford, the sponsor of the bill, said the legislation was a bipartisan attempt to control unregulated sales of delta-8 THC and other intoxicating hemp cannabinoids. But on Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives adjourned for the summer without taking up Lightford’s bill.

“After months of negotiations, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill that all sides agreed upon, further ensuring our common goal to have a fair, just and safe industry,” Lightford said in a statement, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. “The bill we put forth showed the dire need to regulate the hemp industry before we lose yet another young life to these pervasive products. It’s unfortunate the House could not meet the urgency.”

Competing Bill Also Stalled

Democratic state Rep. La Shawn Ford agrees that sales of delta-8 and other intoxicating cannabinoids need to be regulated but says that the bill passed by the Senate is not an appropriate solution. Ford sponsored a competing bill favored by the hemp industry, but the House of Representatives failed to advance the legislation.

“We don’t want pop-up smoke shops opening on every corner,” said Democratic state Representative La Shawn Ford. “We need to make sure we have some licenses and limit how many we have, so we don’t turn Chicago into ‘Delta and Marijuana City.’”

Ford’s bill would allow existing hemp companies to continue doing business by obtaining a $500 license and completing required product testing. The bill would also levy a 10% tax on hemp businesses and restrict sales of hemp products to adults aged 21 and older.

“It’s not like we can get rid of it. You can’t ban something that’s grown like this,” Ford said. “Let’s not try to have an industry that directly competes with cannabis. Put this industry in its own lane, just like beer is in its own lane and rum and spirits are in their own lane.”

Tiffany Chappell Ingram, executive director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois that backed Lightford’s bill, said that members of the group “are disappointed the House failed to pass needed reforms to our state’s cannabis laws and will continue to allow synthetic hemp products that are sickening children and adults to be sold with no oversight.”

“Despite overwhelming bipartisan support for these measures in the Senate, there is clearly more work to do to educate legislators about these important matters,” Chappell said in a statement.

Adam Terry, CEO of cannabis-infused beverages manufacturer Cantrip, encouraged lawmakers to continue working to develop a plan to regulate hemp-derived cannabinoids.

“The Illinois legislature is trying to do what we all want – find a path to regulating the consumable hemp products market,” Terry wrote in an email to High Times. “But in the session, it didn’t get to a workable solution.”

“All good faith hemp operators are interested in affirmative regulation that lays out clear and workable guidelines,” he continued. “Any hemp operator simply clamoring to exist in a perpetually unregulated state of affairs is not serious about long-term business health or public safety.”

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Ohio is finally moving forward with a plan to implement adult-use cannabis sales in the state.

Ohio voters approved Issue 2 in November 2023, making it the 24th state to legalize adult-use cannabis. According to the new state law, adults can possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow up to six plants at home (with a 12-plant total per household as long as two adults live there). It also implemented a 10% tax on all cannabis purchases. These changes took effect starting on Dec. 7, 2023.

At the time, Rep. Jamie Callender said that the delay in implementing a plan for legal sales was “…to make sure we’re thoughtful, that we’ve had adequate time to look at it and deal with the things that don’t go into effect immediately.”

While it’s legal to purchase cannabis in Ohio, there’s currently no legal place to do so, until now. The Ohio Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) met on May 13, where it discussed and approved new rules to allow medical cannabis dispensaries to sell non-medical cannabis products.

According to AP News’ recent coverage of the news, the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) superintendent, Jim Canepa, said that applications would be made available no later than June 7. “I don’t want to give anyone false hopes,” Canepa said. “We’re following the timeline in the initiated statute. We have a small but mighty staff, but there’s bandwidth there.”

The Ohio Cannabis Coalition’s (OCC) spokesperson, Tom Haren, added a comment explaining that the DCC has been “working tirelessly” to meet the various deadlines for sales. “Our members have obviously been anticipating the rollout of adult-use sales,” Haren said of the OCC team’s recent work. “They’ve been working on getting processes in place, making whatever changes they need to to procedures. We’re really excited.”

Canepa explained that allowing medical cannabis dispensaries to sell adult-use products is just one set of rules necessary to fully flesh out the program as a whole. The deadline for these rules is Sept. 7, 2024.

More recently Callender said that this slower but controlled pace is exactly what he was hoping for.

Just after Issue 2 was approved by voters, Gov. Mike DeWine called on legislators to immediately amend the law before it took effect on Dec. 7, 2023. “My recommendation to the General Assembly is that they take action to make sure that both rights are protected,” said DeWine. “People have a right to smoke it. People have a right to consume it. But also that everybody else’s who doesn’t choose to do so is also protected with their rights as well.” The Senate applied changes such as prohibiting home cultivation, reducing the possession amount, and increasing taxes from 10% to 15%.

However, these changes didn’t take effect because the House adjourned before a vote could be made. House legislators said that the Senate was going against the “will of the people” by attempting to change the Issue 2 law after voters voted on the topic. Over time, both the Senate and the House appear to mostly be in agreement. “We’ve gotten past a lot of the fears that many of the senators and the governor’s office had originally—and have gotten to the point where they’re saying ‘Oh, yeah, this is gonna work,’” Callender said. 

Callender added that more issues need to be addressed, because they’re “not consistent with what voters voted on.” This includes changes necessary for child safety packaging, restrictions on cannabis marketing, and protecting business owners. “I think at this point we’ve gotten past a lot of the fears that many of the senators and the Governor’s Office had originally, and we’ve gotten to the point where they’re saying, ‘Oh, this is going to work,’” Callender said.

Ohio-based cannabis business owners are excited to see the program moving forward. Ohio Capital Journal spoke with edibles maker Phoebe DePree about the recent announcement. “It’s exciting for us because that adds an element of convenience to consumers. It’s a real opportunity for us,” DePree said.

Brian Vicente of Vicente LLP called the progress “a sensible starting point for the Buckeye state” when the draft rules were first released. “Unlike recent legalization states like New York that opted to draft legalization regulations from scratch, the Ohio rules clearly borrowed ideas from earlier states—resulting in a refreshing level of sophistication and understanding of the needs of both cannabis consumers and business owners,” Vicente told High Times in April. “These regulations include commonsense ‘best practices’ for businesses in important areas like waste disposal and quality assurance, which should lead to a smooth roll-out and ongoing operations. Consumers will be able to access cannabis from stores until 11 p.m. and through drive-up windows, which will foster widespread access.”

According to the Associated Press, the DCC still needs to file the new rule with JCARR, followed by the Legislative Service Commission, and Secretary of State office, before May 22.

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Hemp business owners in Illinois are calling on lawmakers to approve legislation to regulate the state’s hemp industry instead of a bill that would ban products containing intoxicating cannabinoids including delta-8 THC. 

Last month, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford introduced a hemp regulation bill that would ban delta-8 and other hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids. Such products are currently unregulated in Illinois and are widely available at retailers including smoke shops, gas stations and convenience stores, often as edibles including chips and sweets that mimic popular brands. 

“We don’t know what exactly is in them,” Democratic state Representative Barbara Hernandez said at the time, according to a report from WGEM television news. “We don’t know the ingredients, they are not regulated to list the full ingredients and, as we see here at the table, there’s several items that look like products that we have had before.”

Lightford’s bill, dubbed the Hemp Consumer Products Act (SB3926), would also establish a licensing system for hemp product retailers and set requirements for the testing, packaging and marketing of hemp products. The measure, which is supported by the Illinois Cannabis Association, also mandates scientific research of hemp-derived intoxicating products to determine if they can be safely regulated and once again offered for sale in Illinois.

Tiffany Chappell Ingram, the association’s executive director, issued a statement calling for a “pause” of hemp intoxicant sales pending further research, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune.

“We look forward to working with legislators to find a path forward that empowers consumers, protects minors and ensures the state’s adult-use cannabis law lives up to its full promise, including uplifting social equity license holders and communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs,” she said.

Business Owners Call For Regulation, Not Prohibition

The Hemp Consumer Products Act is opposed by some lawmakers and many representatives of the hemp industry who believe the bill is too strict and likely to cripple the growing market for hemp products. Opponents of the bill held a press conference in the state capital of Springfield on Tuesday to make their case against the legislation and express support for a different hemp regulation bill.

Jennifer Weiss, founder and CEO of hemp products retailer Cubbington’s Cabinet in Chicago, said that she is afraid Lightford’s bill would set such strict limits that it would prohibit sales of non-intoxicating products such as CBD.

“We would have to shut our doors, as well as hundreds of other Illinois companies,” she said. “Let’s not go backward with out-of-touch prohibitions.”

Instead, the hemp entrepreneurs are backing a separate bill (HB5306) from Democratic state Representative Rep. La Shawn Ford. He said that Lightfoot’s bill would likely kill the state’s hemp industry while creating a new illicit market for hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids.

“Prohibition doesn’t work, and Illinois should reject going backward,” he said.

Ford’s bill would create a regulatory and taxation framework for hemp-derived cannabinoids such as CBD and delta-8 THC, including provisions for the licensing of businesses. The measure also limits sales of such products to adults aged 21 and older and sets a limit on the amount of THC contained in consumable hemp products. Additionally, the measure would ban look-alike hemp product packaging that copies the look of other consumer goods.

Ford said that he wants to prevent children from obtaining intoxicating hemp products and to take look-alike products off the market. He also said he does not want to endanger the state’s hemp industry, which could generate approximately $1.5 billion in state revenue over four years.

“We must do something about delta-8 and other unregulated delta hemp products now,” Ford said at Tuesday’s press conference. “Personally, I’ve been working with the industry calling for regulations for the better part of three years, and it’s time to act now,”.

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The Minnesota state Senate last week approved a bill to accelerate the licensing of cannabis businesses, narrowly approving the measure by a vote of 34-32. If passed by the legislature and signed into law, the legislation would set the stage for cultivators to begin growing regulated weed by the end of the year.

Minnesota lawmakers passed legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in May 2023, with provisions allowing adults to possess up to two ounces of cannabis in a public place and up to two pounds of weed at home beginning on August 1 of last year. The measure also allows adults to grow up to eight cannabis plants at home, including four mature, flowering plants.

The bill also legalized the cultivation and sale of regulated cannabis by licensed businesses, with dispensary sales of recreational marijuana anticipated to start in January 2025. Under legislation passed by the Minnesota Senate on Friday, state regulators would be able to issue preliminary approval for cannabis cultivators beginning this summer. Supporters of the bill say the legislation will allow prospective regulated cultivators to line up funding for their operations, secure a business location and complete other tasks related to launching their business.

“This newly regulated, legalized and regulated industry is in its infancy, and we’re here to continue the work we started last year,” said Democratic Senator Lindsey Port, according to a report from the Albert Lea Tribune. “Like any new industry, it will not be fully grown on day one. This bill works to ensure a successful market launch and support the industry and Minnesotans involved in this industry as it grows and develops.”

The legislation also tasks the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management with regulating hemp-derived cannabinoids and medical marijuana, which are currently regulated by the state Department of Health. The office recommended many of the provisions of the bill to help facilitate the timely transition to regulated sales of recreational marijuana. Under the bill, companies given early approval to grow adult-use cannabis would temporarily be subject to the state’s existing rules for medical marijuana cultivation until the Office of Cannabis Management finalizes recreational marijuana regulations later this year.

Republican Lawmakers Oppose Legislation

The bill was opposed by many Republican lawmakers who expressed concerns that establishing temporary regulations that might vary from the forthcoming permanent rules could be problematic. They also balked at allowing businesses to begin growing recreational weed before they are licensed by the state.

“I understand that there are folks that want to have the cannabis industry open and running today,” said Republican Senator Jordan Rasmusson. “But I think for the health and safety of Minnesotans for public safety, for just regulatory integrity, and an open and transparent process that would allow Minnesotans to engage on rulemaking, it’s really important that we don’t do an end-around.”

Opponents of the bill are concerned that accelerating the pace to approve regulated cultivators could lead to unintended consequences. The also were concerned about cannabis being obtained by young people and proposed an amendment that would make possession of weed by minors a misdemeanor criminal offense.

“How can we say it’s wrong and a petty misdemeanor or maybe even a misdemeanor for repeat offenses for a child to be drinking a beer, but it’s okay for them to be walking down the street with a bag of marijuana or smoking a joint?” said Senator Eric Pratt. “Where’s the consistency in that?”

Democratic Governor Tim Walz said that he is monitoring developments in the legislation and noted that he is aware that some people are not comfortable with the prospect of allowing cultivation to begin by the end of the year, stressing that the regulations must include quality standards for cannabis cultivators.

“We certainly hear people on this. I think there’s some potential there,” Walz told reporters earlier this week. “We’re trying the best we can, but we’re not going to cut corners.”

The bill was approved with amendments by the Minnesota House of Representatives last month. The legislation will now head to a conference committee, where lawmakers from both chambers of the legislature will reconcile differences between the two versions of the amended bill.

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More than 440,000.

That is the approximate size of the cannabis industry’s labor force in this country, according to newly published research.

The data, compiled by Vangst and Whitney Economics, shows that the United States’ legal marijuana industry added almost 23,000 jobs last year, amounting to a 5.4% year-over-over increase.

That brings the total number of full-time workers in the industry to 440,445. 

The increase in 2023 may be a “sign that the business climate has begun to stabilize somewhat nationally after the turmoil of the past two years,” the report said.

More from the jobs report:

“Nationwide, annual cannabis sales increased to $28.8 billion in 2023, a 10.3% rise over 2022’s sales. That figure includes all state-regulated medical and adult-use sales, but does not include hemp-derived products. That’s good news for an industry that has endured strong headwinds. After a rough 2022 that saw a contraction of more than 10,000 jobs, sales and hiring stabilized and began trending slightly upward in the second half of 2023. Not all job markets expanded equally. Below the surface, a complex mix of factors were at play.”

But the report also pointed to regional variance in the U.S. weed market.

“The national 5.4% growth in jobs wasn’t spread evenly. Now more than ever, America’s cannabis industry is a state by-state, region-by-region job market. Young markets in recently legalized states continue to expand and create employment opportunities, while labor demand in mature markets contracts along with revenue and profit margins,” the report said.

The growth of the past year “was driven largely by steep-curve expansion in young Midwestern markets — Michigan, Missouri, and Illinois — and the moderate growth of East Coast markets like New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut,” it said.

“Meanwhile, mature markets in the West were hit by price compression, oversupply, and competition from hemp-derived products and unlicensed sales. They saw a decline in annual sales and the loss of thousands of jobs. In years past, the cannabis industry sailed steadily on through rough macroeconomic weather. Indeed, cannabis famously enjoyed a ‘Covid bump’ of expanded sales during a pandemic that battered most other storefront retail operations,” according to the report. 

“Not so with today’s challenges. The current era of high interest rates and expensive capital has hit cannabis with full force. Cannabis companies nationwide are delaying expansion due to the high cost of debt. As the Federal Reserve indicates it may start lowering rates in later 2024, it’s tough to justify locking in a loan at today’s high rates when cheaper money may become available a few months down the road. Add to that a cash flow concern percolating in many markets: More and more vendors are delaying invoice payments in order to cover their short-term costs. A recent Whitney Economics survey found that 82% of cannabis companies are struggling with accounts receivable issues. That impacts a business’ ability to pay the industry’s famously onerous local, state, and federal taxes — and dampens a company’s ability to hire more staff.”

Vanst and Whitney said that there are “bright spots on the horizon” after a period of “alarming revenue decline” in the industry.

Last year’s jobs report from the two firms found a loss of more than 10,500 jobs in America’s cannabis industry, which was a first.

“Stretching back to 2014, when the first legal adult-use stores opened in Colorado and Washington, the industry had enjoyed job growth of 15% to 41% year-over-year. For nearly a decade, cannabis was America’s fastest-growing industry,” the report explained.

But that changed in 2022, “when a postpandemic sales slump coincided with investment pullback, global inflation, rising interest rates, depressed wholesale prices, and changes in consumer purchasing patterns. But while those problems didn’t vanish in 2023, the industry’s job growth was spurred by “the expansion of new and maturing markets in the Midwest and East Coast.”

“After an alarming revenue decline, mature markets like Colorado should find a solid landing point and settle into their natural equilibrium over the next 12 to 24 months. Slow-growing markets like New York will continue to expand, and the newly legal Ohio market should open its first retail stores by the end of the year. Meanwhile, lower interest rates in the second half of 2024 are expected to open up the lending window and provide more cash for thriving companies to expand and add needed staff,” the report said.

“And, as always, federal reform looms out there as a medium-term unknown.

Few expect a significant reform measure (SAFER banking or — long shot — federal legalization) to win approval in Congress prior to 2025. The Biden Administration’s effort to move cannabis to Schedule III continues to grind away, and predictions vary as to the real effects of rescheduling — everything from the unleashing of a new era of post-280E prosperity to a more muted financial effect accompanied by uncertainty around the FDA’s regulatory role.”

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Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker took to the campaign trail over the weekend to stump for President Joseph Biden, taking advantage of the 420 weed high holiday as an opportunity to tout the cannabis policy reforms made by the current administration. At a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, Pritzker said that cannabis policy reform can have significant economic benefits in states that legalize marijuana for adults.

“I wanted to come up here on 4/20, because we, too, legalized cannabis in the state of Illinois, and I know that’s been a boon to not only state revenues but also to business and job creation in the state of Michigan,” said Pritzker, according to a report from Michigan Advance.

“To be blunt: we’re proud to have sparked a new industry when we legalized adult-use cannabis,” the governor added on X in a 420 tweet.

Joined by Michigan Democratic state Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, Pritzker said that legalizing marijuana in Michigan was just one of many Democratic victories in the state since 2018.

“You all have turned a state that was — let’s face it, a red state — into a purple state, and now a blue state,” Pritzker told the crowd. “There are so many other states in the country that should be following Michigan’s lead.”

The Illinois governor added that the progress made in Michigan did not come easy, encouraging the public to volunteer for the campaign and canvass voters to get out the Democratic message.

“It’s like the eighth-grade dance, for me, anyway. Sometimes you have to knock on three or four doors before you get somebody you can really talk to,” Pritzker said. “Because you’re willing to do that, you’re going to have somebody to dance with. You’re going to bring them to the dance.”

Biden Administration Reviewing Federal Weed Policy

In 2022, Biden issued an executive order pardoning thousands of low-level marijuana convictions and directed his administration to review the federal prohibition of cannabis. In August 2023, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine called on the Drug Enforcement Administration to change the classification of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Under the 1970 legislation, the Schedule I classification indicates that a drug has no accepted medical value and a high propensity for abuse. Other drugs currently listed under Schedule I include heroin and LSD.

In January, the Department of Health and Human Services determined that marijuana is eligible for the less strict classification under federal drug laws, according to agency documents. As part of the review, researchers with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that credible evidence shows that marijuana has legitimate medical uses and fits the criteria for rescheduling under the Controlled Substances Act.

At his Grand Rapids campaign stop, Pritzker noted that Biden is also busy supporting his bid for reelection against former president and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. The president spent much of last week campaigning in the battleground state of Pennsylvania and will be making additional stops to help secure the “blue wall” of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, three states that voted for Trump in 2016 but then switched to Biden four years later.

“Democrats need to win the blue wall states. It’s vitally important, and Joe Biden knows it,” Pritzker said. “One of the reasons we’re having the Democratic National Convention here in the Midwest is because he recognizes how important this is.”

“Michigan sits in the middle,” he added. “If we don’t win Michigan, we can’t win the presidency. And if we don’t win Michigan, this country is going to go backwards.” 

Pritzker referred to criticisms that both frontrunners are too old to be elected, arguing that Biden’s experience and character are attributes that will help him in office while suggesting that Trump is uncaring.

“People sometimes say Joe Biden’s old. But Donald Trump has proven that you can be old and not learn anything,” said Pritzker. “You can be old without having learned, throughout the course of your life, empathy for people across the United States. And that is Joe Biden; he wears empathy on his sleeve.”

Pritzker acknowledged that last week, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy won his bid to be added to the Michigan ballot for the general election in November. But the governor said he was not concerned that Kennedy would be a spoiler candidate that takes votes away from the current president.

“There’s only one candidate on the ballot who can win and beat Donald Trump, and that’s Joe Biden,” Pritzker said. “I don’t think having ballot access for Robert Kennedy is going to change the fact that people are going to go into the voting booths and know that they’re throwing away their vote if they vote Robert Kennedy, and that if they vote for Joe Biden they’re assuring that we’re not going to have Donald Trump as president.”

Pritzker continued his support for the president’s reelection campaign on Sunday, leaning into his belief that Kennedy’s candidacy would not hurt Biden.

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being on the ballot in Michigan, I think is going to have a little effect on the ultimate result,” Pritzker said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” according to a report from The Hill. “People understand that there are really only two candidates that have a path to victory in this country and in Michigan. And, of course, that’s Joe Biden and Donald Trump.”

Both major political parties have yet to make their choice for president official. The GOP will meet at the Republican Convention being held in Milwaukee in July to nominate the party’s candidate for president, while Democrats will choose their nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

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A hemp producer based in Dayton, Ohio has a new customer for its crop after the firm signed a deal with a processor in nearby Michigan to provide raw material for hemp-based bioplastics. Under its new contract with Detroit-based Heartland Industries, Ohio Hemp Company will provide hemp fiber to produce bioplastic that will eventually become auto parts manufactured by a Belgian firm.

Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine signed legislation to legalize hemp in the state in 2019, the year after Congress legalized the crop on the national level with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. TJ Richardson and Justin Helt, the owners of Ohio Hemp Company, were among the first farmers in the state to farm the crop. They planted 11,000 cannabinoid hemp plants in 2020 to take advantage of the then-booming CBD market.

After the CBD market began to retract, Richardson and Helt pivoted to growing hemp plants bred to produce grain and fiber, rather than CBD and other cannabinoids. Because of the versatility of hemp, the company still had opportunities with the crop to explore.

“My grandpa always says that hemp is the most exciting new thing in agriculture since soybeans in the 50s,” Helt told agriculture news source Farm and Dairy. “That gives you a little perspective on how often something like this comes along. We see a huge trajectory path for this crop to grow in the state.”

Richardson and Helt knew from the time they launched their operation that there are a multitude of uses for hemp. After transitioning away from CBD hemp, the partners began looking for businesses near Ohio that were using the crop in their products. Before long, Richardson and Helt discovered Detroit-based Heartland Industries, a hemp processing facility founded in 2020. In 2022, the company began a partnership to provide hemp fiber to Ravago, a Belgian bioplastics manufacturer. 

Tim Almond, chairman and co-founder of Heartland Industries, said that from the beginning, his company and the farmers it works with faced challenges as they learned to grow and work with the crop.

“It had been illegal for 80 years, a lot of the knowledge and planting equipment has been either lost or transitioned to corn, soybean and wheat,” said Almond. “Farmers didn’t know what technology would work. So we had to understand how to plant the crop all over again.”

Heartland Industries uses the hemp fiber grown by Ohio Hemp Company and other farmers in the Midwest to manufacture small hemp pellets known as nurdles. After this initial processing, the nurdles are transported to Ravago, where they are mixed with plastic nurdles to produce a bioplastic composed of 70% plastic and 30% hemp fiber. The bioplastic is then used to manufacture parts for the auto industry.

“Everybody wants to have a product that’s better for the environment, but it’s hard to do it if it compromises the cost and it compromises performance,” Almond said. “We found a happy balance with the plastic manufacturing world where we can use this ingredient at 30% in the recipe, and we could see cost savings, we can see weight reduction, we can see performance maintaining the same, but most importantly we can see the reduction in carbon footprint.”

To maximize efficiency, Heartland Industries originally began partnering with farmers in Michigan to source the hemp the company needs. But as the hemp fiber market grew, it also started working with growers in nearby states including Indiana, Illinois and Ohio.

In 2022, Ohio Hemp Company began growing and researching dual-purpose hemp that produces both fiber and grain. Last year, the company grew 100 acres of the crop. Thanks to the new contract with Heartland Industries, Helt and Richardson plan to plant 200 acres of dual-purpose hemp this year.

The hemp grower’s new agreement is a purchase contract to provide hemp fiber to Heartland Industries on a non-binding, year-over-year basis. Ohio Hemp Company is in the process of adding new infrastructure to support its expanding operations. The firm is building a new processing and storage facility, as well as researching new varieties of hemp.

Helt said that the new contract with Heartland Industries and other developments at his operation are signs of the growing demand for hemp in the region.

“It means everything to the growth of this company and to the growth of the industry in (Ohio) to have a major processor (with) a great demand,” said Helt. “All the different pieces of the puzzle are finally coming into place to create an entire industry from front end to back end, from the plant in the field all the way to the end consumer. It’s beautiful to see.”

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The newest set of data released by the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) shows that the state has once again set a new record for adult-use cannabis sales.

According to the CRA, the state collected $286.8 million in adult-use cannabis sales in March, which made up for 99% of all sales. In terms of product popularity, flower still reigns supreme with $131.4 million in sales. A total of $54.4 million was sold in vape cartridges, as well as $33.9 million in inhalable concentrates, and finally edibles at $26.3 million.

The CRA splits Michigan up into five distinct regions: upper lower/upper peninsula (the region at the top of the state sandwiched between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and also the northern portion of land that borders Canada), mid lower (sometimes referred to as Central Michigan), southwest (containing cities such as Kalamazoo and Lansing), east/southeast (which includes cities such as Ann Arbor but spans all of eastern Michigan with the exclusion of the Detroit area), and Wayne (i.e. Wayne County, which mainly covers Detroit).

Among these regions, the east/southeast region collected the most in total adult-use cannabis sales with $128,929,767, followed by $79,432,048 in the southwest region, $31,845,920 in Wayne, $29,373,053 in upper lower/upper peninsula, and lastly, $17,209,468 in the mid lower area.

In total medical cannabis sales, the southwest area led with $141,535, followed by Wayne with $945,992, east/southeast with $809,515, upper lower/upper peninsula with $81,273, and finally mid lower with $79,695.

The state has 785 licensed retailers operating, in addition to 260 processors, eight Class A cultivators, 112 Class B cultivators, and 845 Class C cultivators.

Despite record-breaking adult-use sales, medical cannabis continues to decline, and the state only collected $2.1 million sold at 213 provisioning centers. As of March 2024, Michigan has a total of 107,040 medical cannabis cardholders, 8,302 caregivers, and 191 physicians in total. The state received and approved 2,636 initial applications for medical cannabis cards, alongside 1,158 approved renewals. Out of the 27 medical conditions approved to be treated with medical cannabis, the highest percentage by far is chronic pain, which affects 62.95% of all approved patients. Other significant percentages above one percent includes patients who suffer from severe and chronic pain (48.82%), arthritis (21.98%), post-traumatic stress disorder (8.32%), muscle spasms (6.83%), severe nausea (5.99%), cancer (2.83%), inflammatory bowel disease (1.33%), and glaucoma (1.13%).

The CRA also reported that the Marijuana and Tobacco Investigation Section (MTIS), along with the Michigan State Police, worked together to conduct 37 seizures of illegal cannabis products. This resulted in the “confiscation of 14,929 plants, 11,165 pounds of flower, and 3,133 units of marijuana product.”

The most recent record in Michigan’s March 2024 sales topples the previous record set in December 2023. Tallied numbers for the entirety of 2023 show that the state surpassed $3 billion.

At the end of February, the Michigan Department of Treasury announced how adult-use cannabis tax revenue funds will be granted through its Marihuana Regulation Fund. The money was acquired with taxes from the state’s 737 licensees during FY 2023, with a total of $290.3 million. “This week, many Michigan municipalities and counties will begin seeing their share of adult-use marijuana payments appear in their banking accounts,” said State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks. “Through a partnership, the dollars received from the adult-use marijuana taxes and fees are distributed to our participating communities. These dollars may be spent how our local units deem fit to their needs.”

The agency stated that 269 of the state’s municipalities would be receiving a portion of $87 million (approximately $59,000 for every licensed retail store or microbusiness in its jurisdiction), while $101.6 million would be granted toward education and an additional $101.6 toward transportation. “The tax funding for municipalities and counties that comes from the marijuana excise tax is a very important benefit of the legal cannabis industry in Michigan,” CRA Executive Director Brian Hanna said. “The CRA is committed to doing our part in supporting our licensees so that they can continue to grow the local economy throughout the state with good-paying jobs and increased revenues for local government budgets.”

Michigan wasn’t the only state to break a few records last year. Connecticut’s monthly cannabis sales increased every month through December for a total of $274 million since sales began in January 2023. Maryland also saw an increase month-to-month in 2023 as well.

Adult-use cannabis in Illinois just passed the four-year mark, and 2023 was a particularly strong year for the state’s sales. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation stated that total sales amounted to $1.2 billion last year, with 42 million items sold, which is a 15% increase from numbers in 2022 according to CBS News. “The legalization of adult use cannabis was the start of uplifting the communities most impacted by the failed war on drugs,” Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton said last year. “The benefits from these sales will be used to continue investing in our economic growth in historically disinvested populations.”

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