Michigan governor moves to regulate delta-8 THC products

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(A version of this story first appeared at Hemp Industry Daily.)

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a legislation package that will regulate hemp-derived delta-8 THC.

The new regulations, which take effect Oct. 11, also will restrict sales to channels approved for state-legal marijuana, banning the products from being sold in unlicensed retail stores.

Through the legislation signed by the governor Tuesday, delta-8 THC products will be covered by Michigan law and regulated by the state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA).

Michigan is the first to change the law to regulate the products under its state cannabis regulatory agency.

Other states, including California and Washington, are considering provisions similar to Michigan’s and would regulate delta-8 THC like delta-9 THC.

Lawmakers in Michigan took action after multiple states banned hemp-derived delta-8 THC when the unregulated products took regulators by surprise.

A package of bills updated Michigan’s definitions of products derived from cannabis and require that all intoxicating substances must be tested for safety under the MRA’s statewide monitoring system and tracked through the seed-to-sale tracking system.

The package signed into law includes a bill that:

  • Amends the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act to define THC and modify the definitions of industrial hemp and marijuana.
  • Limits the total amount of THC that a product intended for human or animal use can contain.
  • Allows the MRA to exclude certain THC products from the definition of tetrahydrocannabinol.