Michigan Consolidates Hemp and Cannabis Regulatory Agencies

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) last week consolidated the state’s cannabis and hemp regulatory agencies, which she says will increase efficiency, help grow the sectors’ economies, create jobs, and increase investments in local communities.

“Consolidating multiple government functions into the newly named Cannabis Regulatory Agency will help us continue growing our economy and creating jobs. And to be blunt – safe, legal cannabis entrepreneurship, farming, and consumption helps us put Michiganders first by directing the large windfall of tax revenue from this new industry to make bigger, bolder investments in local schools, roads, and first responders.” – Whitmer in a press release

Currently, the state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) regulates hemp, while the Marijuana Regulatory Agency regulates medical and adult-use cannabis. The executive order renames the Marijuana Regulatory Agency as the Cannabis Regulatory Agency and tasks it with regulating the processing, distribution, and sale of both hemp and THC-rich cannabis starting when the order takes effect in 90 days.

Oversight of hemp cultivation will remain with MDARD but the governor’s office said the restructuring “will allow for a more effective, efficient administration and enforcement of Michigan laws regulating cannabis in all its forms.”

“Consolidating the regulation of the processing, distribution, and sale of marijuana and hemp into a single state agency will allow for more effective and efficient administration and enforcement of state laws relating to cannabis,” the order states.