There’s a brand I’ve been hearing about for years that I can never find at my local dispensary. Last week, I finally tracked it down at a shop in Ann Arbor, loaded up on two ounces, and spent the weekend deciding whether the reputation is deserved. Find my full review below.

Plus, two bills to repeal Michigan’s wholesale cannabis tax are going nowhere, an attorney general candidate is catching heat over black market weed, Ohio is criminalizing the drive home from our dispensaries, and Kalamazoo County is handing out free lock bags for stoners.

Grind up something good and keep scrolling. 

Michigan weed has gotten cheap, and a lot of it has gotten worse. 

Prices have slid, margins have vanished, and many of the state’s biggest cultivation operations have started quietly cutting corners to survive. That means finding quality marijuana nowadays is less about shopping around and more about knowing which brands haven’t given up.

The trouble is, that list keeps shrinking.

So when work took me to Ann Arbor last week, I made my usual stop at Information Entropy and walked out with four half-ounces from a brand I can never find in Lansing. I’ve paid a lot more for a lot less—and this might be the best money I’ve spent on weed in years.

DEAD ON ARRIVAL: Michigan lawmakers have introduced two bills to repeal the state’s 24% wholesale tax, but they don’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. One bill has sat in a committee without a hearing for nearly six months. The other doesn’t have a co-sponsor. State officials also say the plan would leave Michigan without a key revenue stream for road repairs.

SPLIT THE BILL: One Upper Peninsula dispensary says it’s been able to keep up with the burden of the state’s 24% wholesale tax by asking its suppliers to cover a portion of the bill, as well as “trying to be kind of picky” over what cannabis brands they’re allowing on the shelves.

SMELL TEST: Eli Savit, the Democratic nominee for attorney general in this year’s general election, is facing both criticism and praise—depending on who you ask—after his office declined to file criminal charges over a large black market cannabis cultivation operation.

BUCKEYE BLUES: Ohio weed is still significantly more expensive than the bud being sold at Michigan dispensaries, which is why so many Ohioans keep making the drive north. Lawmakers there have responded with a new law that makes it a crime to bring that weed back home.

BALLOT BUNGLE: A group in Benzonia Township is trying to ban marijuana businesses in town, but they keep fumbling the paperwork. Their latest petition was formally rejected by the township board, meaning there will be nothing on the ballot for voters to decide in November.

POWER PLANT: As plans for data centers pop up across Michigan and the fight over their energy use gets louder, some folks are starting to ask the same questions about weed—arguing that some cultivation operations burn more electricity per square foot than data centers. 

CROWN JEWELS: A new brand of cannabis concentrates is landing on the shelves at Pure Options in Lansing, and one local columnist couldn’t be more stoked about it. It’s called Gold Crown, and everything it makes reportedly uses premium live resin rather than cheap distillate.

LOCK IT UP: The Kalamazoo County Health Department is giving away free cannabis lock bags while supplies last—namely to ensure your kid or dog doesn’t get into your stash.

ICYMI: If you missed last week’s newsletter, I wrote about the license plate cameras logging your trip to the dispensary—including the story of how the city of Madison Heights made a local dispensary install one of these cameras in its own parking lot as a condition of opening.

Last week, I asked whether a Flock camera would change where you shop for weed.

A slim majority—about 45%—said yes, they’d drive to a different dispensary that didn’t have a camera in the parking lot. Another 23% said they’d be annoyed by the camera but shop there anyway. And roughly 28% said they didn’t care, and they’ve got nothing to hide.

So, most of you either won’t shop under a camera or resent it while you do. That’s a clearer takeaway than I expected: These things don’t belong in a dispensary parking lot.

This week, I’m asking about something a little more personal.

My great uncle left me what amounts to a cookbook—his notes on growing weed, accumulated over a few decades. I’ve been kicking the idea around for years and never actually started. A little encouragement from you guys might be what finally gets me to put a seed in some dirt.

Should I grow my own weed?

Cast your vote and decide my next hobby. I’ll have the results next week.

Superboof is my favorite strain.

It’s Black Cherry Punch crossed with Tropicana Cookies. And when it’s grown right, it usually hits with citrus up front, a little pepper and earthy musk underneath, and a bright, euphoric lift that never gets jittery. It’s what I usually reach for when I have things to do.

Now, the folks at Apothecare are growing it. Starting this week, you can find what promises to be a dank, certified organic version of this strain on the shelves in Ann Arbor. 

The team there takes a harder and slower approach to growing weed, which tends to make things a little more expensive at the counter. But I’ve found it’s worth the extra cash. 

I’ll be making the drive to find out for myself. Stay tuned. 

I’m not much of an edibles guy, and I’m even less of a gummies guy. But every once in a while I want the longer, heavier high that only an edible delivers. And when I do, I reach for chocolate.

Barracuda chocolate bars from Detroit Edibles have never steered me wrong.

Through the end of the month, Lume is running 30% off the whole Barracuda line. And since Lume has stores all over Michigan, this won’t require the road trip I asked of you last week.

Detroit Edibles started out making fudge in Ann Arbor and now handles the whole process in-house—the distillate comes from its own Cannalicious Labs, and the bars are 65% Belgian chocolate. That’s a big part of why they’re so consistent. You know what you’re getting every time, which matters more with edibles than with just about anything else on the shelf.

I was strolling around downtown Ann Arbor last week, coming off the best sandwich of my life, when I saw a parked cop car and immediately reached for my phone to take this picture. 

It’s a stupid shot; I’m aware. But I’m also old enough to remember when a photo like this would’ve been evidence of a crime, and I don’t think I’ll ever fully get over how much times have changed during my lifetime. A decade ago, this newsletter wouldn’t be able to exist.

The sandwich, for the record, was the Zhoug Knight from Spiedo. The joint was a Mini Eclair from Hyman—live resin infused, rolled with A-nug flower instead of the shake and trim that fills most pre-rolls on the market. The best part is the size. It’s tiny and it’s an actual joint—not a cone—with a reusable glass tip on the end. I found them for $10 at Mango Cannabis.

And no, before anyone emails me: I did not spark up this joint in the middle of the street in front of that police car. Ann Arbor cops are probably the least likely in the country to hassle you over weed, but I like to be discreet out there anyway—if only to keep old traditions alive.

Stay safe out there ‘Ganders. Remember that recreational cannabis is only legal in Michigan for ages 21 and up—and it’s NEVER OK to get high and drive.