Police and marijuana haven’t always been friends, so it’s somewhat unexpected that a former law man would be leading Michigan’s commercial marijuana industry.
But that’s what’s happened.
Brian Hanna, named acting director of the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sept. 15, is making the rounds and meeting the stakeholders.
Using technology and information to combat crime has been a staple of Hanna’s career. He worked most recently as a computer crimes analyst for the Michigan state police and previously as a criminal intelligence analyst with the agency. This isn’t his first foray into marijuana regulation. Hanna worked as an investigations and inspection manager for the CRA from 2017 to March 2022.
Marijuana trade groups and industry insiders don’t think it’s coincidence. They’re expecting more scrutiny — increased inspections, focused data analysis and ramped-up inventory audits.
The Michigan marijuana industry is regulated largely through information sifted from METRC, the state’s encompassing cannabis database software that’s used by licensers and businesses, theoretically tracking marijuana from seed to sale.
Many marijuana business leaders say they’re ready for the CRA to increase enforcement on illicit marijuana that’s sneaking into an already saturated market. Black market marijuana potentially damages the integrity and safety of the market, resulting in plummeting marijuana prices and stiff competition, they argue.
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