Illegal Weed in Michigan—Confronting the Darkest Fears
by Tim Beck
It is commonly understood that lots of illegal herb and its by-products are being produced in Michigan, and all over the U.S. for that matter.
There has been lots of talk and some action in legal marijuana states like California, Oregon, Michigan and New York as to what can be done about illegal production and sales of marijuana. How can the government help persons and entities that are paying big money in taxes, licensing fees, testing, mandatory insurance, security apparatus and the like compete on a fair playing field against producers who do not follow these rules?
Can illegal marijuana sales in Michigan be drastically curtailed? The answer is a resounding YES, assuming a very tough approach is taken.
In the Philippines, thousands of extrajudicial executions by the police under President Rodrigo Duterte got many people so scared, some self-reported to the authorities, begged for mercy and promised they would never sell or use marijuana again. Illegal drug sales and use numbers in Middle Eastern countries that practice Sharia law are way below U.S. standards. Ditto for places like Singapore, where death, very long prison sentences and/or public caning is the penalty for what would seem to be minor infractions to most of us.
Getting down to earth in the state of Michigan, there will be no Sharia law, extrajudicial executions or beheadings for illegal cannabis use or sales. In fact, under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (MRTMA), which legalized marijuana and was passed by the voters in 2018, the bar is so low that the biggest penalty written into the law is a misdemeanor for repeat illegal marijuana offenders. It will take three-fourths supermajority of the legislature to change this law.
So in the real world, what is the worst that could happen in the Great Lakes State down the road?
Specifically, there is the case of longtime cannabis entrepreneur Michael Thue, whose alleged illegal cannabis business operations were busted in a dramatic way by the Michigan State Police (MSP). Serious charges could be leveled. The scale of this bust is unprecedented, since weed was made legal in Michigan in 2018.
According to an MLive news story on October 12, MSP from the Marijuana and Tobacco Investigation Section conducted a SWAT-type raid on Thue’s business, Great Lakes Hemp Supplements, in Grand Traverse County. It is said over 40 state troopers conducted the raid, which, according to seizure records, confiscated or destroyed over 400 suspected marijuana plants, 50 suspected peyote cacti, six bags of suspected psychedelic mushrooms, THC bath bombs, salves and massage oils, vaping products, tinctures, a rifle, a shotgun and $401 in cash.
According to the warrant, the officers were looking for “all evidence to assist in the investigation of narcotics manufacturing and trafficking, continuing a criminal enterprise, [operating an] unlicensed marijuana grow and violation of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act.”
Setting aside the alleged psychedelic plants and perhaps illegal guns, what does this mean for cannabis businesses accused of simply operating outside the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) structure? Is the Thue episode a harbinger of what may come, in a new “get tough” approach by the MSP and CRA authorities? Can an illegal operator be charged with serious crimes such as narcotics trafficking or operating a continuing criminal enterprise, both of which are outside the scope of the MRTMA law but exist elsewhere in state statutes?
The answer, according to prominent Benton Harbor criminal defense attorney Daniel Grow (who helped write the MRTMA act), is “anything is possible” when one is dealing with the criminal justice system. It could very well be that law enforcement “is focused on finding loopholes in the MRTMA law” to ratchet up the penalty level, and give a “strong motivation for people caught with delivery to plead to a lesser violation. This is very concerning,” Grow explained.
Ryan Basore, founder of Redemption Cannabis and other ancillary businesses, and who personally felt the sting of federal prison for illegal marijuana growing some years ago, echoed Grow’s concerns. “There’s lots of illegal activity out there and some folks are pretty reckless these days. My gut tells me . . . this is the beginning of a heavy targeting of the illegal market.”
CRA director Brian Hanna, who assumed his post in September and has an extensive military and law enforcement background, said in media reports the CRA had nothing to do with the Thue raid. In an interview with Grown In, a cannabis industry trade publication, he said, “I didn’t know about Thue until I saw it in the papers. That wasn’t our agency. What we’re focused on is the regulation of the licensed business. Specifically the medical marijuana and adult use marijuana businesses,” he explained.
Hanna’s message in a story published by Michigan Information & Research Service Inc. (MIRS News), a private subscriber-funded political watchdog publication, had a slightly different nuance.
In the MIRS interview, Hanna stated, “We’re focused on the medical marijuana and adult use facilities . . . and any criminal information that we receive, not pertaining to that environment, we pass over to the MSP.” He went on to say that the CRA and MSP are working hand in hand and are in discussions to go after black market marijuana in Michigan. This is because, in the end, the CRA is a regulatory agency not the police. In that respect, the CRA is not going after small-time home growers who do not need a license.
So how seriously should Hanna be taken? Could things get really ugly?
Grassroots cannabis activist Anton Harb, who served in both the U.S. military and law enforcement, and is now an advocate of cannabis rights for veterans, shared his sentiments with MM Report. In a post to the members-only, privately operated Safer Michigan Coalition newsfeed and listserv, Harb described his impressions of Hanna whom he has interacted with on a number of occasions—including having lunch with the gentleman. He urged the 425 Safer listserv members to take the man seriously.
“Being former law enforcement and military, I can tell immediately who I’m dealing with,” he explained. “Brian Hanna is a guy I would have gotten along with as a military officer and in the LEO world. He has been quick to solve issues and so far has been true to his word . . . It will be interesting to see how his leadership style affects the industry. For the licensees who have been skirting the rules, I would probably lose sleep at night.”
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