Cannabis in Michigan in 2021: All You Need to Know Continued

May 11, 2021 Cannabis Business, Entrepreneurs, Legalization

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Curious about cannabis in Michigan in 2021? Northstar has you covered with all of the best insights.

Michigan is a hotbed for legal cannabis activity, and as the industry evolves, it’s important to keep up with the trends. As such, we’ve put together this article discussing some of the most common questions Michigan cannabis consumers and ganjapreneurs might ask in 2021.

From medical dispensary and cannabis retail establishment laws to cannabis tracking and reporting in Michigan, we cover all you need to know about cannabis in the Great Lake State!

Looking for assistance starting a cannabis operation in Michigan? Contact us now to get help from one of our industry-professional Michigan cannabis CPAs.

Michigan Medical Dispensary & Cannabis Retail Establishment Laws

Staying compliant with Michigan’s cannabis retail laws is essential for success. Costly infractions have the potential to seriously damage your business without understanding the following information:

Where can a marijuana dispensary or retail operation open up shop?

Michigan marijuana legalization demands cannabis retail establishments avoid areas zoned exclusively for residential use or within 1,000 feet of a school for grades K-12. However, it’s crucial to note that local municipalities have the power to reduce this distant requirement or impose other location requirements. Some municipalities restrict marijuana retail operations.

Loving this post? Make sure to check out our other article on the MRA in Michigan before you leave!

Who can Michigan marijuana retailers sell to?

Michigan marijuana retailers operating medical marijuana provisioning centers are only allowed to sell to patients who hold an active medical marijuana patient identification card. However, if you’re operating a licensed adult-use marijuana retail shop in Michigan, you can sell to adults 21 years of age and older.

What can a Michigan marijuana retailer sell?

Cannabis retailers in Michigan are allowed to sell cannabis and cannabis products. This includes flower, edibles, concentrates, infused products, clones, and seeds.

What are the purchase and possession limits for Michigan adult-use retail customers?

Adults 21 years and older can buy up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis flower or the equivalent product in one transaction. No more than 15 grams of this allotment can be cannabis concentrate.

Possession of up to 2.5 ounces of flower or equivalent product outside the home is allowed for adults 21 years and older. But if you’re in your home, you can possess up to 10 ounces. Adults can also have up to 15 grams of concentrate at any time.

What are the purchase and possession limits for medical marijuana patients in Michigan?

Medical marijuana patients in Michigan can buy as much as 2.5 ounces of flower or equivalent product each day. But they still have a monthly purchase limit of 10 ounces of flower or equivalent product.

How much taxes are placed on retail cannabis in Michigan?

Medical cannabis sales in Michigan have a standard sales tax of six percent in addition to a three percent excise tax. For Michigan recreational cannabis, it’s a 15 percent excise tax with the standard sales tax.

Can dispensaries sell both medical marijuana and recreational cannabis at the same location?

Marijuana establishments in Michigan are allowed to distribute medical and adult-use marijuana. The main rule regarding allowing these sales under one roof is to have the products physically separate from each other in the dispensary. But dispensaries also much abide by certain regulations for selling these products, including different labeling, customer verification procedures, tax rates, and more.

Is medical marijuana delivery in Michigan allowed? What are the restrictions?

Some provisioning centers might offer home delivery after the facility’s delivery procedures are reviewed and approved by the MRA. For these operations, a secure website that authenticates access by a registered qualifying patient must be used to receive orders. Registered qualifying patients can receive medical marijuana deliveries to their homes regardless of if the patient’s jurisdiction doesn’t permit dispensaries.

Can customers consume cannabis in Michigan dispensaries?

Cannabis establishments in Michigan are allowed to apply for a license to become a designated consumption site. However, smoking lounges and permitting the consumption of cannabis products on-site can only happen at dispensaries that possess a consumption site license. These businesses cannot serve food or alcoholic beverages.

What does an adult-use cannabis retailer in Michigan need before making sales?

Before selling a product, Michigan adult-use cannabis retailers have to:

Understand they can only sell to people 21 years of age or older once the product is tested and has the necessary retail label
Use a third-party inventory control and tracking system to manage all transactions, current inventory, and other essential information
Check customers’ government-issued photo ID to ensure they’re 21 years of age or older
Ensure each sale does not go beyond customers’ transaction limits

Cannabis Tracking & Reporting in Michigan

Each state has a set of tracking and reporting requirements. Of course, Michigan also has its regulations that allow the state to monitor commercial cannabis activity.

States monitor commercial cannabis activity to ensure everything is accounted for and to identify any issues that could lead to the overall decline of legal cannabis. This is also a way to ensure legal marijuana products aren’t being sold on the black market.

The illicit market competes with the legal space directly, and with the competitive advantage of operating outside of the law, it’s essential to account for all legal marijuana products, from seed to sale. This is another reason why cannabis accounting in Michigan is so crucial.

Here’s some information about what must be done to ensure infraction-free cannabis tracking and reporting in Michigan:

What tracking, reporting, and inventory control requirements must Michigan cannabis retailers follow?

Through Michigan’s Marijuana Tracking Act, the state demands a statewide monitoring system that’s integratable with third-party inventory control and tracking systems. This facilitates the following:

Verifying age and medical marijuana patient card validity
Retaining records of the date, time, quantity, and price of all sales and cannabis transfers
Determining if a certain sale or transfer goes beyond the customer’s transaction limits

Furthermore, through Michigan’s Adult-Use Marijuana Emergency Rules, licensees have to use a third-party inventory control and tracking system that integrates with the statewide monitoring system., which tracks:

All cannabis plants, products packages, transfers, conversions, sales, returns, and purchase totals
Batch and lot information over the course of the whole chain of custody
Total batch recall that highlights all crucial criteria per each batch subject to the recall

What is the official state cannabis monitoring system in Michigan?

Metrc is the official state cannabis monitoring system in Michigan. Licensees must obtain a license from the State of Michigan before getting Metrc.

The Metrc system is a hosted, real-time system that uses serialized tags with bar-code, labels attached to wholesale packages that allow it to track cannabis inventory, and human-readable and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags attached to each plant. Every tag is attached to a plant to make it easy to track everything throughout each growth stage, along with the drying and curing processes.