The self-described “street cannabis brand” Muha Meds has been awarded a cannabis processor license in Michigan. The license — which was first reported in a Fake Cart Detective report by DabConnection earlier this month — may surprise people who are familiar with the Muha Meds name as the vape brand has seen infamously widespread copycats, counterfeit products, and online sales of unregulated, THC-rich cannabis vape carts.
In a press release this week, Muha Meds said it “selected Michigan for the location of its first licensed manufacturing operation due to its welcoming retail climate and business-friendly tax policies.”
The development also comes a few short years after a nationwide vape crisis saw thousands of hospitalizations and dozens of deaths that the CDC tied to vitamin E acetate, a cutting agent found in cannabis vape cartridges that were being bought and sold on the unregulated marketplace. Throughout that crisis, and in the years since, Muha Meds has been among the most widely circulated counterfeit/unregulated vape carts and has been a frequent topic for investigation by vape safety enthusiasts. The aforementioned Fake Cart Detective series by DabConnection, for example, has run several pieces highlighting issues with the brand, although it appears that Muha Meds — or at least the Michigan-based entity — has taken steps toward becoming a legitimate cannabis brand with a trademark application filed in June accompanying its licensure.
In a phone interview with Ganjapreneur, Ali Garawi, the CEO of Michigan-based Muha Meds, said the brand is preparing cease and desist notices against its many impersonators. Garawi also confirmed the location of the brand’s processing facility in Pinconning, Michigan through a video posted to the company’s Instagram story on October 19.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Garawi declined to comment on whether the Michigan brand has ties to the California-based black market brand, so it remains unclear whether the licensed Muha Meds has directly grown from its unregulated roots or is merely an attempt to absorb a well-established brand identity that would be unlikely to sue for intellectual property infringement.
Today, there are still multiple online retailers selling unfilled Muha Meds-branded vape carts and other packaging materials, many through Muha Meds-branded websites like MuhaMedsOfficial.com. There is also a host of Instagram accounts claiming to be the official Muha Meds although only one of them — @muhameds.live — appears to be tied to the now-licensed, Michigan-based operation.
Notably, the packaging for Muha Meds’ products in Michigan also includes a QR code linking to a tool on their official website for distinguishing licensed Muha Meds products from counterfeits or knock-offs. DabConnection reported in January that the tool would approve any code that was input, although this no longer appears to be the case and could not be confirmed by Ganjapreneur.
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