High Notes (sponsored content

from Northern Express - May 31, 2021

by Northern Express

Spectator/Stephen Tuttle

HIGH NOTES

CANNABIS

MICHIGAN’S CANNABIS FUTURE

Michigan is searching for a new identity. While we remain a strong manufacturing hub, we’re no longer the world’s automotive capital. Cannabis — which supports manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, and the service industries — could be the backbone of Michigan’s economic future.

Here’s why: In 2020, Cannabis revenue in Michigan hit $984 million. This year looks even more promising; the first quarter of 2021 has exceeded $360 million. The 10 % excise tax Michigan places on cannabis products generated over $31 million in 2020. A fund dedicated to handling the revenue distributed over $10 million to 38 different townships just last month, totaling roughly $28,000 per marijuana retailer to local governments.

The industry is also employing thousands of Michiganders, adding 9,000 workers in 2020, despite the pandemic and the multitude of shutdowns and layoffs it caused in so many other sectors.

The financial services industry is taking notice. Just this month, a group of Michigan banking leaders joined together to push for protections in serving Michigan cannabis facilities and pledging support for the SAFE Banking Act, four versions of which have already passed the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., but have yet to reach the Senate floor.

Cannabis production and retail offer a net good for Michigan’s economy, giving us the opportunity to build a tourist industry around cannabis production and retail — one on par with Michigan’s thriving craft beer, wine, and spirits industries.

In northern Michigan in particular, where we rely so heavily on tourism, especially between Memorial Day and Labor Day, cannabis retailers have the potential to draw tourists year-round, and in doing so, provide year-round jobs in processing and retailing in communities that need more opportunities that are reliable, secure, and professional.

We’re excited to be a part of bringing the industry to northern Michigan and even more eager to see where this industry, and this state, is in the next five to 10 years.