MICHIGAN—Researchers are driving around in a van studying weed, the state spent $4.4 million on a cannabis lab that still can’t legally test cannabis, and deer hunters who smoke pot just got some good news from the US Supreme Court.
Just another week in Michigan weed.
Here’s what you might’ve missed:
DEER SEASON: Michigan stoners got a big win from the US Supreme Court. In a unanimous ruling, the court found that marijuana use alone is not enough to strip someone of their gun rights under federal law. It’s a significant legal development for Michigan hunters, sport shooters, and cannabis consumers who have spent years navigating a legal gray area.
LAB RATS: Michigan reportedly spent roughly $4.4 million building a state-run cannabis reference laboratory designed to improve testing standards and investigate questionable results. There’s just one problem: The lab still can’t legally test marijuana products. State regulators say the facility will eventually help verify results from private testing labs, but for now it’s mostly serving as a very expensive reminder that cannabis regulations are complicated.
WEED WAGON: Michigan researchers can’t legally bring dispensary weed onto university campuses, so scientists at Michigan State University have resorted to using a customized research van instead. The mobile lab allows scientists to meet participants off-campus, document the products they’re using, and collect data on how those products affect them.
TAX MAN: Michigan lawmakers are proposing new rules that would prevent business owners from obtaining a license if they still owe cannabis-related taxes to the state. The legislation comes as lawmakers try to protect revenue from the state’s new 24% wholesale marijuana tax—which is already falling well short of projections and facing an ongoing legal challenge.
TOP COP: Brian Hanna, the executive director of the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency, is taking on a bigger role as the president of the Cannabis Regulators Association—a nonprofit group representing marijuana regulators from more than 45 states and territories.
NOT SO FAST: Local residents are still pissed off after Harbor Farmz started marketing its old processing facility in Kalamazoo as a potential AI data center. But city officials say no formal plans have been submitted and no approvals have been granted.
FINAL FIVE: Click on Detroit has unveiled the finalists for its annual “Vote 4 The Best” contest, including a category for Metro Detroit’s best cannabis dispensary. The contenders: The Flower Bowl, GRAMZ, JARS, King of Budz, and Lume. Online voting is open through July 20.
ICYMI: If you missed last week’s newsletter, I put down the flower, fired up my Puffco, and spent a few days dabbing some of Michigan’s best live rosin. The result? No loser, no winner, and a newfound appreciation for just how good the top shelf has become. Read the full review here.
READ MORE: 30 Michigan dispensaries that stay open late
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