Fellow Michigander,

This week’s MichiGanja Report starts with a simple truth: Some of the most important companies in Michigan’s cannabis industry are the ones you’ve never heard of. 

Our lead feature takes you behind the scenes at a small, veteran-owned manufacturer in Temperance that’s quietly become a backbone of the state’s glass-tipped vape scene. 

Below that, we’re tracking the slow creep of the new wholesale tax, a messy dispensary licensing fight in the Upper Peninsula, and other big headlines in this week’s weed news.

We’ve also got a science-backed explainer on why edibles can feel wildly different from day to day, a tiny disposable vape that somehow punches above its weight, a rare win for medical marijuana patients, and a fresh MichiGanja in the Wild moment from the Capital City. 

Spark up, scroll down, and let’s get into it.

You know your favorite vape brand. You probably don’t know the small Michigan company that helped make that vape actually work without clogging up or leaking oil into your pocket.

This week, I’m taking you behind the scenes at O2VAPE, a small manufacturer in Temperance whose hardware shows up in far more Michigan vape pens than most consumers realize. 

TAX WATCH: Most dispensaries are still waiting to feel the real impact of the state’s newly implemented 24% wholesale weed tax, reports the Midland Daily News. Many Michigan shops haven’t raised prices yet, but owners say the squeeze is coming and are expecting slower sales, tighter margins, and more customers drifting back to the unregulated market.

HEMP SHAKEUP: Michigan gas stations and smoke shops are running out of time to sell THC hemp drinks, gummies, and vapes. The Detroit Free Press reports that federal legislation is set to close a longstanding legal loophole that’s allowed intoxicating, hemp-based products to be sold outside licensed dispensaries. The new rules are slated to take effect in November.

LICENSE BRAWL: The fight over Menominee’s final dispensary license is getting messier by the day, with multiple cannabis companies—including Puff Cannabis—piling into court after voters decided to cap the city at nine dispensaries. With eight shops currently operating, Menominee Mayor Casey Hoffman described the situation as a full-blown “legal bloodbath.”

TURNAROUND TRY: Common Citizen has hired Florida cannabis executive Robert Beasley as CEO, hoping new leadership can help navigate collapsing prices and the new 24% wholesale tax. As other companies shut down or flee Michigan, Beasley told Crain’s Detroit Business that he still sees opportunity: “When you’re the last shrimp boat around, there is plenty of shrimp.”

SCHOOL ZONE: Did Ann Arbor slip up by shrinking the buffer between dispensaries and schools? A columnist at the Michigan Daily is laying out the case against the move, pointing to research linking closer proximity to easier youth access and increased underage use.

SMOKE SHOP SHUTDOWN: A smoke shop near Ypsilanti is facing a lawsuit after police seized weed and psychedelic mushrooms during a raid last fall, MLive reports. No criminal charges have been filed. But township officials still want a judge to declare the store a public nuisance and padlock it for a year, arguing it was illegally selling weed without a license.

BANKING BLUES: Big banks still aren’t budging on cannabis, reports MJBizDaily. Despite President Donald Trump’s order to reschedule marijuana, lenders say they still won’t work with weed businesses until federal rules are fully settled—and possibly not without new legislation.

Have you ever taken the same gummy at the same dose and had wildly different results? If so, you’re definitely not alone; it’s one of the most common concerns when it comes to edibles.

This week, our resident cannabis doctor is digging into the science behind why some cannabis-infused treats can feel so inconsistent from one day to the next—and why it usually has nothing to do with the product itself. As it turns out, the real explanation runs through your gut, your liver, and a mistake that almost every Michigan stoner has made at least once.

This might be the smallest vape pen I’ve ever actually enjoyed.

It’s another brand collaboration from North Coast—this time with Adams Family Farms, a West Michigan grower that bills itself as “good people who love good weed.” 

The result is a “fun-sized” 0.15g live rosin disposable with no additives and no weird candy sweetness—just clean, strain-forward rosin in a package that actually makes sense. The two strains I’ve tried are Sour Diesel and Super Boof, and both of them hit like full-on dab rigs.

As for the size? They’re tiny but mighty. These disposables advertise 30+ puffs. And while I wasn’t counting, each one lasted me through a full evening. They were easy to pocket, easy to forget about, and easy to pull out just about anywhere when I wanted a few discreet rips.

I found them for $11 at House of Dank.

Medical marijuana patients don’t get a lot of love these days. 

Urb Cannabis is changing that.

Starting this month, Urb Cannabis is now offering 20% off for all card-carrying medical marijuana patients—any time, all day, at every location across Michigan. 

This deal stands out because medical weed deals have quietly been disappearing. Michigan had about 120,000 registered medical marijuana patients in 2023. As of last year, that number has been cut in half. And as renewals drop off, some dispensaries have stopped catering to medical customers altogether, taking away key discounts and dedicated menus in the process.

Last week, I took an infused, pre-rolled joint from Wojo Co. for a walk through REO Town, lighting up along the pathway in front of one of the neighborhood’s massive flower murals.

Consider it pollination—stoner edition.

The “DooBee” is a 1-gram cone infused with premium flower and bubble hash. And the strain was Bloom Smoothie, a hybrid with some major fruit-forward candy notes, plus terpenes that visibly soaked into the paper as it burned. The oil ring showed up early and stuck around.

In fact, it was a bit too much. 

This joint ended up getting ashed, bottled, and stretched into two solid sessions without losing any of its flavor or punch. The effects were upbeat and smiley up top, followed by a smooth, relaxed glide that felt sort of perfect for a long wintry walk through the Capital City.

Got your own MichiGanja in the Wild moment to share? Send in your best Michigan-made cannabis product pics out in the world for a chance to be featured in next week’s edition. 

Do you or your company want to support The MichiGanja Report’s mission and showcase your products or services to an engaged audience of more than 15,000 cannabis enthusiasts at the same time? Contact advertise@couriernewsroom.com for more information.

Stay safe out there ‘Ganders. Recreational cannabis is only for use by individuals 21 years of age or older. Keep out of reach of children. It is illegal to drive a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana. Contact the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222.