METHOD
Source eligibility
Retail providers must have verified API/feed access, approved automated use, source attribution, and configured rate limits before collection is enabled. Questionable or unverified providers remain disabled.
Prism Pulse
Prism Pulse Methodology
The Prism Michigan Retail Price Index is designed to publish only source-attributed, normalized, balanced, and clearly labeled market indicators.
Collect - Normalize - Validate
View Market DataMichigan cannabis retail market intelligence
Prism Pulse does not invent market prices, scrape around restrictions, or blend official wholesale/state figures with retail menu estimates.
METHOD
Normalization
Flower is grouped by observed weight classes such as 1g, 3.5g, and actual ounce/approximately 28g listings. Vape cartridges, disposable vapes, concentrates, and edibles are kept in separate analytical categories.
METHOD
Promotion treatment
BOGO, bundle, member-only, flash-sale, and multi-buy listings are stored for auditability but excluded from standard retail medians by default. Sale prices with a regular price retain both values.
METHOD
Retailer balance
Prism calculates medians at the retailer level before regional aggregation so one retailer with a large catalog cannot dominate a statewide benchmark.
METHOD
Regional balance
Regions must meet minimum sample thresholds. Statewide metrics combine qualifying regions with capped regional influence rather than pooling every listing into one average.
METHOD
Outlier review
Obvious placeholders, extreme prices, missing package sizes, and suspected unit mismatches are flagged and excluded from public benchmarks while remaining available for staff review.
METHOD
Freshness
Retail/menu observations are considered fresh for 48 hours. Stale metrics are labeled or withheld instead of silently presented as current market conditions.
METHOD
Official versus estimated data
CRA and Treasury values are labeled as official state data. Prism-calculated retail values are labeled as Prism Michigan Retail Price Index or retail market estimates.
Minimum Standards