Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency has a new plan to crack down on illegal cannabis products that somehow enter the legal program and cause oversupply Problems with price drops. The state’s top marijuana regulator, Brian Hannahannounced new initiatives to reporters in a media session Tuesday at CRA’s Lansing headquarters. reported Crain’s Detroit store.
Hanna, a former US Army intelligence officer, was handpicked by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to replace the agency’s founding director Andrew Brisbo in September. As cannabis prices fell in the state, pressure from legal operators built, leading to Brisbo’s resignation, and support for Hanna, who is also a former Michigan State Police crime analyst, to fill the role.
Over the past 18 months, cannabis prices have fallen significantly, reaching $109.88 an ounce in September compared to $203.82 an ounce a year ago.
While Hanna confirmed that the industry is oversupplied due to the illegal products being included in the scheme, he said the extent of those operations is unclear.
“Anyone who cuts corners or cheats, we want to expose that,” said Hanna. “But we don’t know where it enters the supply chain.”
While the cultivation of legal marijuana crops also increased by at least 120% in a year, the licensed market stock increased by more than 400% over the same period, suggesting that illegal cannabis is at play.
Illegal cannabis distillates, surveillance camera abuse
How does illegal weed get into the regulated market?
Andrew Sereno, CEO of a Manchester based grower Glacier Farms LLC Crain’s said last week that it’s extremely difficult for regulators to confirm how much of the product has been legally grown because of the wide range of production and grower skills.
“It’s very easy for a grower with bad actors to ‘harvest’ some plants and then bring in outside material at that point,” Sereno said…
