If you are an Industrial Hemp or Marijuana Grower, Processor, Retailer, or Consumer, a new wave of proposed legislation in Lansing will directly affect you.
A series of House and Senate bills introduced in October 2025 could dramatically reshape how hemp and cannabis are defined, regulated, and administered across Michigan.
🏛 Legislative Update
The Senate Committee on Regulatory Affairs was scheduled to meet Thursday to review the bills, but the meeting was canceled.
The next meeting is expected Thursday, October 16 at 8:30 AM, in Room 403, 4th Floor of the State Capitol Building, 100 N. Capitol Avenue, Lansing, MI 48933.
👉 View the committee page:
Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee
💬 Join the Effort — Support iHemp Michigan
iHemp Michigan is working to inform, coordinate, and advocate for our state’s hemp industry during this critical rule-making period.
A member-only meeting will be held Monday, October 13 at 10:00 AM to review the legislation and prepare a unified industry response.
➡️ To participate:
Join iHemp Michigan and request the Zoom meeting link by emailing blain@ihempmichigan.com.
Membership ensures you stay informed, represented, and connected to fellow hemp professionals across Michigan.
⚖️ Overview of the Pending Bills
Together, these proposals would:
- Transfer Michigan’s hemp program to USDA administration
- Create new CRA licensing for consumable hemp processors
- Ban synthetic and converted cannabinoids
- Merge hemp and marijuana oversight under the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA)
🏠 House Bills 4963–4967: Restructuring Michigan’s Hemp Laws
HB 4963 — Updates to the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (MRTMA)
- Redefines industrial hemp to include both the 0.3% THC threshold and a CRA-set total THC per-product limit.
- Grants the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) authority to regulate cultivation, processing, and sales of hemp.
- Allows CRA to determine the maximum THC content for hemp products intended for human or animal use.
- Updates THC definitions to cover synthetic and isomeric forms, unless CRA specifically exempts them.
🟢 Impact: CRA becomes the central authority for both hemp and marijuana. Products that exceed THC limits would be regulated as marijuana.
HB 4964 — Industrial Hemp Processing Act
- Creates a state license for consumable hemp processors making edibles, drinks, tinctures, or other ingestible products.
- Sets a $1,350 annual license fee and $50 site modification fee.
- Bans intoxicating cannabinoids (delta-8, delta-10, HHC, THC-O, etc.) and converted cannabinoids.
- Defines non-intoxicating cannabinoids such as CBD, CBG, and CBN.
- Requires testing, labeling, and packaging standards with warnings and full ingredient lists.
- Establishes the Consumable Hemp Product Fund for CRA oversight.
- Imposes civil fines up to $10,000 for violations and criminal penalties for unlicensed activity.
🟢 Impact: All hemp edibles, beverages, and other consumable products will require CRA licensing and lab testing. Unlicensed or intoxicating hemp products will be banned from sale.
HB 4965 — Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act Amendments
- Aligns the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) with CRA authority.
- Allows licensed medical marijuana processors and testing labs to handle industrial hemp.
- Integrates hemp transactions into the statewide tracking system used for marijuana.
🟢 Impact: Creates consistency between hemp and medical cannabis operations under one regulatory framework.
HB 4966 — Industrial Hemp Growers Act Amendments
- Revises grower registration and THC testing definitions.
- Limits growers to selling raw hemp only to licensed processors.
- Prohibits smokable hemp flower or finished product sales without processor licensing.
- Requires growers to maintain detailed sale records, including THC test results and buyer license numbers.
🟢 Impact: Tightens supply-chain control and eliminates direct-to-consumer hemp sales from farms.
HB 4967 — Companion to MRTMA Amendments
- Clarifies CRA’s authority to regulate both hemp and marijuana.
- Unifies THC definitions and product standards across all cannabis-related legislation.
🟢 Impact: Ensures legal consistency across Michigan’s cannabis system.
🏛 Senate Bills 599–602: The Companion Legislation
SB 599 — Industrial Hemp Processing Act
- Mirrors HB 4964, creating the CRA licensing system for consumable hemp processors.
- Defines categories of non-intoxicating, intoxicating, and potentially intoxicating cannabinoids.
- Bans synthetic and converted cannabinoids.
- Requires CRA-approved testing, packaging, and labeling.
- Establishes fines and enforcement procedures.
🟢 Impact: Closes loopholes on hemp-derived intoxicants and formalizes a legal path for safe, tested hemp products.
SB 600 — Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act Amendments
- Integrates hemp processing and testing into existing marijuana facilities.
- Updates definitions and CRA rulemaking powers.
🟢 Impact: Allows marijuana facilities to process and test hemp, streamlining regulation and compliance.
SB 601 — Industrial Hemp Growers Act Amendments
- Aligns Michigan’s hemp grower rules with the new federal and CRA framework.
- Requires growers to sell only to licensed processors and maintain complete transaction records.
🟢 Impact: Reinforces chain-of-custody and compliance oversight for all hemp production.
SB 602 — Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act Amendments
- Empowers CRA to regulate hemp alongside marijuana.
- Standardizes THC definitions and product thresholds.
- Integrates hemp and cannabis oversight into a single agency.
🟢 Impact: Establishes one consistent regulatory system for all cannabis-derived products.
🍺 Related Draft Bills (H04071–H04074)
These companion drafts address hemp-infused beverages and food safety:
- Add hemp beverage permits to the Liquor Control Code, with required testing and sanitation plans.
- Modify the Food Law to set clear standards for hemp-infused consumables.
- Exempt hemp beverage producers licensed under the Liquor Code from separate handler licensing under the Industrial Hemp Act.
🟢 Impact: Creates a pathway for regulated hemp beverages while ensuring consumer safety and quality standards.
🔍 What This Means for Michigan’s Hemp Industry
| Stakeholder | Key Impacts |
|---|---|
| Growers | May sell raw hemp only to licensed processors; no retail or smokable flower sales without a processing license. |
| Processors | Must obtain CRA licenses for all consumable hemp products; subject to testing, labeling, and THC limits. |
| Retailers | Can sell only CRA-approved hemp products; intoxicating or converted cannabinoids prohibited. |
| Consumers | Expect safer, tested products but possible loss of access to some hemp-derived THC items. |
| Medical Marijuana Facilities | Authorized to process and test hemp products under CRA supervision. |
| Regulators (CRA) | Gains unified authority over hemp and marijuana industries. |
📣 Get Involved
Michigan’s hemp industry stands at a turning point.
To stay informed and help shape the future of hemp policy:
✅ Join iHemp Michigan — our members are working together to educate lawmakers and protect the interests of farmers, processors, and small businesses.
📩 Request membership info or the member-only meeting link: blain@ihempmichigan.com
🌱 Stay Informed. Stay Engaged.
These bills will determine how hemp is grown, processed, and sold in Michigan.
Your participation matters — join us to ensure fair, safe, and sustainable regulations that protect our industry’s future.
👉 Learn more and read the full text of each bill at
www.iHempMichigan.com
👉 Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee
