How to Stay Compliant with Michigan’s Child-Resistant Marijuana Packaging Rules
Michigan’s legalization of the use of recreational marijuana only went into effect in December 2019 after the passage of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act in 2018. Many of the rules and regulations are still forming around the legal distribution and sale of cannabis within the state.
When the Act passed in 2018, the only specific packaging regulation listed in the law stated that:
“No marihuana retailer may sell or otherwise transfer marihuana that is not contained in an opaque, resealable, child-resistant package designed to be significantly difficult for children under 5 years of age to open and not difficult for normal adults to use properly as defined by 16 C.F.R. 1700.20 (1995), unless the marihuana is transferred for consumption on the premises where sold.”
As such, Emergency Adult-Use Rules were passed in May 2018 to clarify exactly what is required in package labeling. These labeling rules are as follows:
- The name and address of the marihuana establishment that processes or packages the marihuana-infused product.
- The name of the marihuana-infused product.
- The ingredients of the marihuana-infused product, in descending order of predominance by weight.
- The net weight or net volume of the product.
- For an edible marihuana product, the marihuana processor shall comply with...all of the following:
- Allergen labeling as specified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA), 21 USC 343.
- If any nutritional claim is made, appropriate labeling as specified by Code of Federal Regulations, Food Labeling, 21 CFR part 101. 44
- The following statement printed in at least the equivalent of 11-point font size in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background: "Made in a marihuana establishment.”
A later update in October of 2019 added the following regulations for labeling marijuana plant:
- Business or trade name, licensee number, and the RFID package tag assigned by the statewide monitoring system that is visible.
- Name of the strain.
- Date of harvest, if applicable.
- Seed strain, if applicable.
- Universal Symbol, if applicable.
In addition, the same update clarified the required information for marijuana-infused products, i.e. edibles, tinctures, vapors, and other extracts.
- The name of the licensee and the license number of the producer, including business or trade name, and tag or source number as assigned by the statewide monitoring system.
- The name of the licensee and the license number including business or trade name of licensee that packaged the product, if different from the processor of the marijuana product.
- The unique identification number for the package or the harvest, if applicable.
- Date of harvest, if applicable.
- Name of strain, if applicable.
- New weight in United States customary and metric units.
- Concentration of THC and cannabidol (CBD)
- Activation time expressed in words or through a pictogram.
- Name of the safety compliance facility that performed any test, any associated test batch number, and any test analysis date.
- The Universal Symbol for marijuana product published on the department’s website.
- A warning that states all of the following: “For use by registered qualifying patients only. Keep out of the reach of children. It is illegal to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana. National Poison Control Center 1-800-222-1222.
The Universal Symbol is a standard brand for labeling, with different versions present in different states. The Michigan version is a downward-pointing green triangle with a marijuana leaf inside and the text “MARIJUANA PRODUCT” above.
As the state is one of most recent adopters of adult-use marijuana, additional rules and regulations are set to be heard by the Marijuana Regulation Agency on February 12th, so it might be worth staying up-to-date on any updates on the MRA site.
If your dispensary or other manufacturing facility is in need of custom-printed packaging for your products, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team here at CannaSundries.
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