On January 13, MM Report Magazine released the results of a “Freedom of Information Act” (FOIA) filed against Michigan’s “Marijuana Regulatory Agency” (MRA). The FOIA requested all Information pertaining to how this product came to be regulated by the State.
The FOIA request received 590 documents. It revealed how the law was passed in a quiet way and no one except uber Lansing political insiders knew who put the deal together. MM Report’s goal is to bring the passage of this law into the light of day for everyone.
Delta 8-THC, is a derivative of hemp, which contains a tiny amount of THC. In this instance the THC is extracted from hemp and chemically processed into things like gummies and when ingested it produces a mild “high.” After its invention, the product came to be sold in convenience stores, gas stations, smoke shops and from various websites in Michigan and across the USA, since hemp is legal under Federal law.
Many names popped up in these documents, but the key players in stopping unregulated Delta- 8 were MRA Director Andrew Brisbo, Steve Linder and Shelly Edgerton leaders of the “Michigan Cannabis Manufacturers Association’’ (MCMA), Attorney Lance Boldry from the blue chip legal firm Dykema Gossett, Democrat State Representative Yousef Rabhi, attorneys James “Jimmy” Bliehl and Hassan Beydoun from the “Michigan Republican Policy Office” and Benjamin Hawkins from the Legislative Service Bureau. As far as Lance Boldry is concerned, the documents do not reveal who he was representing. A voice message to Boldry’s Lansing office for clarification was not returned. A trusted Lansing insider however, who does not wish to be named, told MM Report that Boldry was working with the MCMA.
Lurking in the background was GOP House members Roger Hauck, Chairman of the House Regulatory Reform Committee and Republican State Representative Jim Lilly. These two are infamous to some, for working with MCMA to destroy the Michigan medical marijuana caregiver system as we know it.
Representatives Tenisha Yancy(D), Kevin Hertel (D)’ and Senators Jeremy Moss (D), T.C. Clements (R), and Arric Nesbitt (R)’s names also appeared.
 |
| Andrew Brisbo |
It seems Brisbo was the quarterback. Nothing got past this man as the law was being written,and he worked directly with the “Michigan Department of Agriculture Regulatory Department” (MDARD) chief Gina Allessandri, to get the department to sign off on the legislation. Jimmy Bliehl brought special legal and political skills to the table. In one message, he suggests Brisbo’s seeming desire to expand the MRA’s power to control all recreational drugs, might not sit well with the Legislature. Special care was needed to get the wording of the bill perfect, so no alarm bells would start ringing.
The saga began in September 2020 when Boldry, and a canna business person named “Justin” inquired with the MRA and MDARD to see if there are any rules governing Delta 8 in Michigan. In November a hemp processing company “Berrian Processing Solutions” weighed in, along with canna business giant “Cresco Labs,” wondering about Delta 8 and its legality.
 |
| Steve Linder |
In a manifesto entitled “Addressing Public Health Concerns and the Black Market” the MCMA’s three stated goals were regulation of Delta 8, dealing with “black market” Caregivers, and tighter regulation of cannabis micro businesses.
By February 2021, other state regulators were in on the action. It was officially confirmed by MRA scientific manager Clare Patterson on March 12th that there was no law against Delta 8 in Michigan, therefore all use and distribution of the product was legal.
This set the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) on a quest to see if there had been any health consequences to Delta 8. No problems were discovered in Michigan. Anecdotal reports of adults getting sick in West Virginia and kids ingesting the product in Pennsylvania were cited. At that point LARA and a person named Gillian Schauer, an MDHHS contractor, contacted health and regulatory officials from across the USA for evidence of Delta-8 health problems. Except for a response from Colorado, which said they were working on the problem, there were no replies. A national ZOOM meeting was held with top cannabis regulators across the USA. It appears nothing of substance developed as far as adverse consequences from Delta-8.
 |
| Rep. Yousef Rabhi |
In March and throughout April, a consensus emerged among the power brokers in the mix, that Delta-8 must be regulated in Michigan. At that point, frenetic activity among the key players to write a bullet proof law began. Representative Rabhi was cc’d on most everything but he put nothing into electronic format.
So the question for some is why all the fuss about Delta-8?
The answer can best be explained in a comment by “Michigan Cannabis Industry Association” (MiCIA) director Robin Schnieder, whose group had no involvement in drafting the Delta 8 law, but Ms. Schnieder was consulted by Brisbo. She suggested some changes to the proposal which were accepted, and so the MiCIA decided not to oppose the bill. Politically speaking, the game was over, and the freight train toward passage was rolling fast.
She wrote to Brisbo: “The MiCIA policy committee supports the regulation of Delta 8, a product which induces psychoactive effects, to protect the safety and integrity of the marijuana marketplace.”
So there you have it. The consensus now is anything that gets someone “high” must be regulated by Lansing. Now where do we go from here?
How about making ice cream illegal for diabetics? What about “unhealthy” foods like white bread, pasta, tortillas, pizza and anything else which can cause obesity? How about soda pop, which former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to regulate and impose a special tax in New York City to protect people from this mega sugary drink.
Except for some corporate entities who want to make more money and regulators who want to ever expand their reach, there is nothing positive about Delta-8 regulation.
