MICHIGAN—Cannabis is a pretty big deal in Michigan—and there’s never a shortage of newsworthy headlines from the industry as the state inches closer to becoming the nation’s weed capital.
Here are nine things you need to know this week:
HIGH TIME FOR BETTER BENEFITS: Budtenders are blazing new trails for workers’ rights in Michigan as labor unions gain traction at dispensaries statewide. Since last March, several pot shops have formed new unions—but they’re still facing corporate resistance, MLive reports.
MARIJUANA MONOPOLY: Auburn Hills is expected to recommend a new marijuana licensing ordinance that would allow four pot shops to operate in the city—three of which are owned by one cannabis real estate developer named Jeffrey Yatooma, reports Crain’s Detroit Business.
CRACKDOWN IN CORUNNA: State regulators revoked the cultivation and processing licenses of Candid Labs after discovering several jars filled with unlicensed, unregulated cannabis products at the company’s facility in Corunna, the Detroit Free Press reports.
SATURATION POINT: With two growers for every pot shop in Michigan and retail prices continuing to stagnate, industry leaders are growing concerned that mounting debt and folding businesses could jeopardize the future of the state’s cannabis industry, MLive reports.
FIGHTING FIRE WITH FIRE: The Upper Peninsula city of Ironwood reportedly plans to purchase a new fire truck after raking in $100,000 in cannabis tax revenue last year.
NEW IN MICHIGAN: Herbology Cannabis Co. opened its newest pot shop in Ypsilanti last week at 915 W. Michigan Ave. Puff Cannabis Co. also opened in Kalamazoo at 4305 Portage St.
SICK PLANTS: A viroid known for shrinking pot plants and reducing THC levels has arrived in Michigan, and scientists are calling it the “biggest concern” for cannabis growers worldwide, reports the Detroit Free Press. It’s called hop latent viroid, and it’s unclear how widespread it is.
FIGHTING INEQUITY: Statistics show that less than 4% of the dispensaries in Michigan are owned by Black Michiganders—and the co-owners of the Detroit-based cannabis brand Calyxeum are working to make the industry more inclusive, reports Lansing City Pulse.
GREEN GIVES BACK: Josey Scoggin, a longtime advocate for Michigan’s marijuana industry, is cruising around in a new wheelchair-accessible van this week after a GoFundMe campaign raised more than $30,000 to get her a new set of wheels, according to reports from MLive.
This article originally appeared in The MichiGanja Report, a free monthly newsletter from The ‘Gander about all things cannabis, written by political correspondent Kyle Kaminski. Click here to subscribe, and we’ll send the next edition straight to your inbox.
