Michigan’s hemp community has operated under a simple understanding: compliant hemp flower can be sold to consumers. Our members built businesses on that premise, and consumers responded with loyalty. The new letter from the Cannabis Regulatory Agency changes the tone—and quite possibly the rules.

Buried in the notice of unannounced inspections is language that reads like a quiet revolution. It says that a processor‑handler shall not sell or transport viable seed, leaf, or floral material to any location not listed on the license, or to any person in Michigan who is not a registered grower or a licensed processor‑handler. Taken at face value, that phrasing conflicts with the long‑standing practice of selling compliant flower to adult consumers in‑state. The public, in other words, would no longer be a lawful destination.

The inspection posture is equally sobering. Licensees must produce their license on demand, consent to entry without notice, and accept that any cannabis on‑site testing above 0.3 percent delta‑9 THC is subject to forfeiture and destruction without compensation. For many processors, that includes ordinary concentrates—oils and distillates—held for the sole purpose of formulating legal finished goods. The ingredients you need to comply become the liability that puts your inventory at risk.

Michigan needs clarity. If the Agency intends to redefine how floral material moves within the state, it owes the industry plain English, a legal basis, and a realistic policy for existing inventory. If the letter’s phrasing was not meant to shutter consumer access to compliant flower, that should be said just as plainly.

While we seek a written answer, businesses should keep every box and bottle on license‑listed premises, maintain records that would satisfy any auditor, and train staff to route questions to ownership and counsel. Consumers deserve transparent communication; operators deserve fair notice.

iHemp Michigan will press for an answer that honors what’s worked: safe consumer access, rigorous testing, and clear lines between compliant actors and bad ones.