A monthly briefing for Michigan cannabis entrepreneurs, operators, and lenders.
Cannabis Industry Pulse
Mottville Township Voters Decide Nov. 3 Whether to Shut Dispensaries Down
A Prohibition of Marihuana Establishments Ordinance goes before Mottville Township voters on Nov. 3. If it passes, it would bar the township's two existing dispensaries and block any future ones. How and when that gets enforced isn't clear - ask before the vote, not after.
Source: WWMT Newschannel 3, Oct. 12, 2026
Menominee Goes the Other Direction - A Ballot Question to Raise the Retail Cap to 13
Also on Nov. 3, City of Menominee voters decide a resident-initiated proposal raising the city's cap on marijuana retail licenses from nine to 13. It qualified on petition signatures and survived a court challenge. Two communities, opposite directions, same election day.
Source: Upper Michigan's Source, Sep. 22, 2026
CRA Releases Its September Disciplinary and Nonrenewal Reports
On Oct. 29 the CRA published its monthly disciplinary action report plus the denied-application and nonrenewal report for September. Watch the nonrenewal column, not just the fines: a license that isn't renewed leaves a purpose-built building that can't be used as intended until somebody licensed occupies it.
Source: Michigan CRA, Oct. 29, 2026
Michigan Regulatory Watch
Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) updates affecting real estate.
The CRA's enforcement posture has not softened. Its October reporting covered September denials, nonrenewals, formal complaints and disciplinary actions, and a separate early-October order revoked an Ypsilanti adult-use retail license and imposed a $251,250 fine over seven rule violations. The lesson for anyone who owns, leases or lends against cannabis-zoned property is structural: the license belongs to the operator, not to the building, and it does not transfer with the dirt. Your protection sits in the documents - whether the lease lets you re-let to a replacement licensee, and whether the loan treats revocation as a default with a cure window long enough to find one.
Sources: CRA disciplinary and nonrenewal reports, Oct. 29, 2026 · CRA revocation and fine order, Oct. 1, 2026
Transaction Spotlight
Details anonymized to protect client confidentiality.
Two cannabis farms, separately owned, closed together in northeast Michigan. Access to the land was indirect, so rather than taking an exception we insured it through an access easement. The file also called for a mineral surface rights endorsement. That combination is what makes cannabis farmland harder than it looks: the cannabis use is only the first question.
Cannabis Title Insight
Recorded Deed Restrictions on Cannabis Property - What Title Can Solve, and What It Cannot
Start with a distinction that saves money. Whether a municipality allows a cannabis use at an address is a zoning and local-ordinance question, and it belongs to you and your land-use counsel. We do not verify zoning, opt-in status, or buffer distances, and no title policy covers them. What a title company handles is what is recorded against the land - and on cannabis deals that is more than people expect. Older subdivision and business-park declarations routinely prohibit anything the declarant considered a nuisance or an unlawful use, and some post-2018 deeds carry restrictions written specifically to keep marijuana operations out. A recorded restriction does not care what the township council voted. It runs with the land, and the party who can enforce it is usually a neighboring owner or an association, not the municipality.
So, order the search early and read the restrictions before the inspection period closes. Three things decide whether it is fixable. Who can enforce it: if the declarant is long gone, the association was never formed or has dissolved, and no benefited owner has ever enforced anything, you have a far better story than if there is an active architectural committee down the street. What it actually says: a ban on unlawful use reads differently in a state where the use is licensed than one that names marijuana outright. And what the underwriter will do with it - coverage against loss from enforcement of a recorded restriction does get written on commercial parcels, but it needs the declaration, every amendment, the survey, and the enforcement history in hand. Bring that package and you usually get an answer. Bring a commitment and a deadline and you usually get an exception.
From Dave's Desk
Nov. 3 is the date I'd have circled. Two Michigan ballot questions pointing in opposite directions on the same day tells you there's no single municipal trend to plan around - only the specific township your building sits in.
Meanwhile the listings crossing my desk say the market is still trading: turnkey cultivation space in Jackson and Albion, freestanding adult-use retail in Portage, much of it offered with seller financing. That's where the title surprises live. Call me before you sign, not after.
— Dave
Work With Us
If you're acquiring, financing, or developing cannabis-zoned property in Michigan, we handle the title complexities that general agents won't touch. Reach out for a conversation about your next transaction.
commercial@mwtmi.com
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About Midwest Title and Dave Nykanen
Midwest Title's Commercial Division handles Michigan's most complex commercial closings -- including cannabis-zoned acquisitions, license-tied property transfers, multi-parcel operator consolidations, and the underwriting and Schedule B issues that scare off generalist title agents. Founded and led by Dave Nykanen, a licensed Michigan real estate attorney with three decades of experience in commercial real estate as both a practicing attorney and a title agent, the division brings legal and underwriting depth that cannabis transactions demand.
Contact: commercial@mwtmi.com | Midwest Title | Commercial Division | Michigan-Licensed Title Insurance Agent
This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
