Advertisement

Author

By CHRIS SILVA

Advertisement

By CHRIS SILVA's Latest Articles

Michigan cannabis is having a rough year. These brands want you to judge them anyway

Best in Grass is back, and in a market this beat up, it might be the most important thing happening in Michigan weed right now. Let’s set the scene. Cannabis sales are down. A 24% …

This is what union busting looks like up close

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how Michigan’s cannabis industry has developed a disturbing pattern of crushing union drives. I heard from a lot of people after that piece but what stuck with …

The sheriff who wants to save Michigan’s cannabis industry

Chris Swanson is not the kind of politician you expect to be talking about cannabis. He’s a sheriff. He’s spent three decades in Genesee County law enforcement, doing narcotics, human …

The green industry’s dirty little secret: It hates unions

Cannabis was supposed to be different. Ask the budtenders at Exclusive Brands how that worked out. When Emily Hull, a budtender at the Ann Arbor dispensary of the Livonia-based chain with seven …

Can new CEO Bryan Lloyd wash the ‘corporate’ off Skymint?

Lansing’s cannabis district is used to a little haze, but as we slog through the end of March, the fog over the local market is getting thick. For years, Skymint (formerly Green Peak) was the …

The winter chill or a tax-induced freeze?

Lansing’s cannabis district is used to a little haze, but as we slog through the end of February, the fog over the local market is getting thick. If you’ve been looking at the January and …

The cannabis job miracle:

In the boardrooms and legislative offices of Lansing, the green rush is often framed as a historic victory for Michigan’s labor market. By the end of 2025, economic reports touted cannabis as the …

The high cost of the race to the bottom

Lansing just wrapped up a 2025 that would make even the most seasoned dealer’s head spin. We’re smoking more and growing more, but the industry is somehow making less. According to the …

Is the 24% ‘road tax’ burying Michigan’s social equity?

When Michigan voters legalized adult-use cannabis in 2018, the mandate wasn’t just about tax revenue — it was about repair. The Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act was written with …

Potholes and pipe dreams

By CHRIS SILVA As 2025 comes to a close, the cannabis landscape in Michigan is shifting from a wide-open frontier to a walled garden. We’re continuing to see record-breaking sales numbers, but …