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COA explainer · United States

Michigan: from grow to shelf, what ends up on the label

Play it: the batch moves through Michigan’s workflow on the left, and each required label piece snaps onto the package on the right, color-coded by who adds it.

Sample data · Michigan (CRA, R 420.301–510) · for illustration

Published

🏷️ The product label, building live

Great Lakes · House Flower
Marijuana Flower
Fictional sample label for illustration, not a compliant, printable label.
🌱 Grower adds it🔬 Lab / COA adds it🏪 Retailer adds it🏛️ Regulatory (always required)
The big idea: Michigan has no distributor, the grower and processor arrange testing directly, and the lab comes to the site to pull the sample itself. Michigan’s symbol is a green inverted triangle with a “MARIJUANA PRODUCT” banner (no “!”, no “THC”), potency carries a required “±10%” note, and compliance runs on Metrc plus CRA audits.

Sample label for illustration, not a compliant, printable label. Michigan rules (CRA, R 420.301–510), current 2026. Educational, not legal advice.

Step by step: Michigan

  1. Step 1: Grower / harvest batch (Grower) The grower creates a harvest batch (≤ 50 lb), each plant RFID-tagged in Metrc. This becomes the label’s Metrc package tag, harvest date, and net weight. Michigan has no distributor.
  2. Step 2: Quarantine, request testing (Grower) The batch is held apart while the grower (flower) or processor (final form) arranges testing directly with a CRA-licensed lab.
  3. Step 3: Lab samples on-site (Lab) Michigan is unusual: the lab travels to the site and pulls the sample itself (a business employee observes but may not touch it), with a signed chain-of-custody.
  4. Step 4: Safety-compliance analysis (Lab) The independent, ISO/IEC 17025 lab runs potency, foreign matter, microbials, chemical residue, metals, solvents, and vape checks.
  5. Step 5: Pass/fail into Metrc + COA (Lab) The lab enters pass/fail into Metrc and issues the COA. This unlocks THC & CBD and the tested-by lab + date.
  6. Step 6: Pass / fail (Regulatory) A failed batch is destroyed or remediated, then must pass two consecutive re-tests. The CRA also runs its own random audit sampling.
  7. Step 7: Package + label (Grower) The grower/processor adds Michigan’s green inverted triangle “MARIJUANA PRODUCT” symbol, the potency + a “value may vary by 10%” note, and the warnings.
  8. Step 8: Retail sale (Retailer) The retailer confirms in Metrc that the product passed, isn’t on hold, and is labeled, then sells to 21+ and hands over a required info pamphlet.

Frequently asked questions

Who tests cannabis in Michigan?
An independent lab accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 and licensed by the CRA tests Michigan cannabis. It runs the safety-compliance analysis (potency, foreign matter, microbials, chemical residue, metals, solvents and vape checks), enters pass or fail into Metrc and issues the COA, which unlocks the label's THC and CBD and the tested-by lab and date. The CRA also runs random audit sampling.
Who pulls the sample in Michigan?
The lab pulls the sample in Michigan. It travels to the grower's or processor's site and takes the sample itself, with a signed chain of custody; a business employee observes but may not touch it. There is no distributor: the grower or processor arranges testing directly with the lab after holding the batch in quarantine.
What has to be on a cannabis label in Michigan?
A Michigan label carries the Metrc package tag, harvest date, net weight and the grown-by line with license from the grower, the THC and CBD from the COA with a required "value may vary by 10%" note and the tested-by line, the sold-by retailer line, the green inverted triangle reading "MARIJUANA PRODUCT", and the state warnings.

Keep reading

How to read a cannabis label Terpene glossary Every COA explainer
Educational information only, not medical advice. Terpene and cannabinoid effects are an active area of research and vary by person, product, and dose. Cannabis is for adults 21+ where legal.

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