It’s a new day for marijuana in Michigan.

That's because the state officials overseeing the launch of the retail industry for recreational marijuana have agreed to start using "marijuana" in most references.

That's opposed to "marihuana," which state regulators have insisted upon using -- even in emails -- until now.

The use of marijuana with an "h" in an official capacity dates back to 1937 with the Marihuana Tax Act, a federal law spearheaded by Harry Anslinger that placed a tax on marijuana. When Michigan developed its Public Health Code in 1978, it used the federal spelling of “marihuana” and hasn’t looked back.

State laws will continue to keep marijuana with an "h," and the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs will still use "marihuana" in legal references.

"We're still going to be using the correct-by-law spelling when we're referencing official documents," said David Harns, a spokesman with LARA.

But in informal capacities, now officials can write "marijuana" -- and the Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation is now the Bureau of Marijuana Regulation.

In part, that reflects the bureau’s responsibility for both the state’s 2008 medical marijuana patient and caregiver program, the 2016 law that dictates the licensing of commercial medical marijuana facilities and for implementing the law that Michigan voters passed in November legalizing recreational marijuana.

But on a simpler level, officials wanted to make communication with stakeholders simpler, Harns said.

"If we're ever going to change it, now's the time," Harns said, recounting the discussion about the bureau's name change. "Since we're going to be changing the name, should we change the spelling?"

Another place marijuana with a "j" has appeared in state materials is on the universal symbol the state requires all medical marijuana retail stores to put on products.

The state of Michigan's Bureau of Marijuana Regulation is changing the required universal symbol for medical marijuana products from the symbol on the left that says "contains THC" to the symbol on the right that says "marijuana product" as of December 2018. (Courtesy | State of Michigan)

Regulators changed the symbol this December from a marijuana leaf in a green triangle that reads "contains THC" to a similar logo with the words "marijuana product."

"There's going to be some products that we license that will not have THC in them," Harns said.

How state officials will differentiate between medical and recreational marijuana products with symbols is not yet known, Harns said.

The Bureau of Marijuana Regulation has until December 2019 to write rules and regulations for the recreational marijuana market, and must accept license applications for retail businesses by that deadline.

One state agency that isn’t changing its use of “marihuana”: the Michigan State Police.

We will be giving certain reminders about the new marihauna law throughout the day! Here is the first fact. With the passage of the recreational marihauna law, Michigan spells marihauna with an "H" not a "J". So quit yellin' at my spellin"! pic.twitter.com/HqzCgc9vTK — MSP Metro Detroit (@mspmetrodet) December 6, 2018

It does not! We are expressing a little personal freedom and independence! pic.twitter.com/s0nPrjFu0h — MSP Metro Detroit (@mspmetrodet) December 6, 2018

-- Amy Biolchini is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact her with questions, tips or comments at abiolch1@mlive.com. Read more from MLive about medical and recreational marijuana.