Last week, Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) filed a formal complaint against the adult-use license of PER III, LLC dba Trap Stars Outlet (License No. AU-R-001306), in New Buffalo, Michigan.
On September 30, 2025, the CRA received a complaint alleging that Trap Stars was selling large quantities of marijuana products that may have exceeded the limits permitted by the administrative rules or statutes.
On October 7, 2025, a CRA agent reviewed the complaint and Trap Stars' sales receipts in Metrc.
According to Metrc, Trapstars had recorded 76 different sales of MuhaMeds disposable vape cartridges between 9:56 a.m. and 10:40 a.m. on September 30, 2025. Each sales receipt showed a total cost of $.06 or $.07. In total, 528 MuhaMeds vape cartridges were sold during this time. The vape cartridges contained a combined total of 1,056 grams of marijuana concentrate.
On October 8, 2025, the CRA agent conducted a site visit, according to the complaint. During this visit, the agent asked the general manager to pull up information from the company's point-of-sale (POS) system that matched the sales recorded in Metrc for September 30, 2025. The manager could only provide one receipt and said he didn't know how to retrieve the others.
The agent reviewed the lone receipt, which indicated that seven vape cartridges were sold, equaling a combined total of 14 grams of marijuana concentrate.
The agent also reviewed video surveillance footage, which did not confirm the sales of vape cartridges listed in Metrc for that same time period.
Instead, the agent observed numerous customers on the sales floor purchasing primarily deli-style marijuana flower/bud. The agent was unable to confirm the sale documented in the lone receipt.
The manager noted that the company had a promotion on MuhaMeds vape cartridges on September 30, 2025, but he didn't have any corroborating information.
Following his on-site visit, the CRA agent emailed Trap Stars, requesting surveillance footage and the lost receipts. The agent also asked for the company’s SOPs for sales procedures and promotional sales.
On October 12, 2025, Trap Stars sent the CRA a table listing the Metrc receipt number and the corresponding POS receipt number for 37 of the 76 requested POS receipts, along with an SOP pertaining to “Sales and Transactions – Multiple Transactions.”
The agent found that 34 of the 37 receipts contained the same customer ID and the same budtender. The receipts also amounted to sales of 237 vape cartridges, equaling a total of 474 grams of marijuana concentrated product.
The receipts contained various codes, including “(FREE) 100% DISCOUNT” and “(FREE) 100% DISCOUNT open prot.”
While Trap Stars’ SOPs for processing sales and transactions allowed multiple transactions per customer, they didn’t include any information in the “Procedures” section regarding the listed items. Without such information, the SOP failed to meet the requirements for a proper SOP.
On November 5, 2025, the agent asked Trap Stars for the remaining receipts, as well as a statement regarding the use of the POS receipt code “100 DISCOUNT” and whether the marijuana products in question were actually sold.
The manager indicated that all transactions occurred on camera between September 29 and September 30, 2025. He also said the products left the facility as a matter of a promotional sale; specifically, when a customer purchased a set amount of product, they were given a promotional item for $0.01. The manager said the items should have been reflected on each customer’s receipt as a promotion during the purchase/transaction, not as sold before the product left the facility. However, Trap Stars didn’t provide any evidence to support these statements.
When the CRA followed up with a request for the manager to provide a statement indicating whether the licensee has any additional POS receipts that reflect the products under investigation, no additional information was provided.
On November 7, 2025, Trap Stars sent the agent an SOP titled “DISCOUNTING & PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAYS.” The agent reviewed this SOP and found that it appeared to meet the requirements for an SOP. However, based on a review of the evidence and SOP, the agent determined that Trap Stars wasn’t complying with their own SOP as written.
The SOP for “DISCOUNTING & PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAYS” states that the licensee must track all promotional items correctly, and a customer receipt must clearly show both items, the discount applied, and the total paid. The SOP states to never “penny out” or “zero out” product without a corresponding sale. The sales receipts that the agent reviewed for the products at issue did not meet the standards required by Trap Stars’ own SOP.
On November 13, 2025, Trap Stars provided the 41 remaining POS receipts for MuhaMeds vape cartridge sales. The customer and budtender IDs were the same as the other 37. The receipts indicated that 284 vape cartridges were sold.
The Metrc and POS receipts differed by $0.01 in sales cost. A review of the POS receipts revealed this difference was due to a $0.01 charge on each reviewed POS receipt for “Excise Tax.”
Following the investigation, the CRA determined that Trap Stars violated Rule 420.104(3)(b), which states that a marijuana retailer must accurately enter all transactions, current inventory, and other information into the statewide monitoring system. They also said Trap Stars violated Rule 420.206a(3), which requires a marijuana business to have up-to-date standard operating procedures on site that detail the business operations and activities necessary for compliance with the acts and these rules.
The CRA could impose fines and/or other sanctions, including suspending, revoking, restricting, or refusing to renew the dispensary’s license.
Statements in formal complaints are merely allegations. Cannabis Equipment News (CEN) reached out to Trap Stars for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
