Michigan could require marijuana products to feature labels warning pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers about the health risks of cannabis consumption.
The House has just approved bills requiring the health warnings in a 105-4 vote, following overwhelming approval in the Senate. One required at least 75% approval as it would amend the 2018 ballot initiative for legalizing medical marijuana, and it easily hit that target.
The bills will now go to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk to be signed into law. They include a requirement for health warning labels that educate pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers about the dangers marijuana use could pose to their fetuses and their breastfeeding infants.
It would also ensure that an informational pamphlet would be available at every point of sale for cannabis in the state, including information about preventing minors from using marijuana and details of the poison control hotline.
Legal sales began on Dec. 1, 2019. The state has revealed that Michiganders spent $17,699,952 on cannabis between the launch date and Feb. 2. It takes a 10% excise tax and there is also a 6% sales tax, meaning it has generated $2,938,192 in tax revenue during the first two months of trading.
It falls some way short of the sales in nearby Illinois, which generated $39.2 million in recreational cannabis sales during January, the first month of trading. Michigan is a slightly smaller state by population, but the main issue is a lack of places to buy marijuana.
Around 1,400 of the 1,771 communities in the state have decided against allowing cannabis businesses to launch in their jurisdictions. Some are totally opposed to having a marijuana store in their towns, while others are waiting for the correct local ordnances to be refined.
Yet the industry is starting to gather pace. There were only a handful of stores open in December, but the Marijuana Regulatory Agency has now issued 43 retail licenses as of Feb. 4.
There are also supply shortages to take into consideration, and sales should pick up once they are ironed out. The Marijuana Regulatory Agency has now issued one Class B recreational marijuana grower license and 17 Class C licenses, along with seven processor licenses and four for secure transporters.
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