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It’s hard to say if this was a monumental year in marijuana news, but 2017 felt pretty good to us. There was a lot going on across the U.S. and in Michigan.

Here are our top ten most memorable news events in marijuana for the year.

10) California wildfires destroyed a significant amount of cannabis in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. While all wildfires are heartbreaking and painful for individuals, families and communities, this year’s fire in California was especially tough on cannabis growers. Fires that broke out just before harvest time destroyed or damaged an estimated 34 cannabis farms and tragically the crop is uninsured due to federal regulations.

9) California, Nevada and Canada begin to implement adult-use legalization. After voting in November 2016 to end cannabis prohibition, both California and Nevada started working toward creating their legal environments. We love the “get it done” spirit in Nevada—it managed to open dispensaries less than eight months after the vote. Its larger sister state, California will end cannabis prohibition on January 1, 2018. Canadians from Nunavut to Saskatchewan will have access to cannabis starting in the coming summer, thanks to some hard work by the government in 2017.

8) Cheers to 360,000+ Michigan citizens who signed petitions for adult-use cannabis legalization. Volunteers and paid solicitors from MILegalize and the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol secured 100,000 more signatures than required and validation of signatures is underway through the Board of Canvassers. We hope it will clear the board and go to voters in 2018. We expect the vote to be positive.

7) Jeff Sessions was appointed attorney general of the U.S. This is a dark mark on cannabis. The AG is a long-time hater of cannabis and will do what he can to ensure prohibition doesn’t end. The upside of this story is we have a dysfunctional Congress, he has a volatile boss and there are 29 states with some sort of marijuana laws on the books, which is going to make DEA intervention difficult. Public opinion is changing, too. A recent Gallup poll showed that 60 percent of Americans favor cannabis legalization.

6) Colorado marked its 5th year of adult use legalization and the sky didn’t fall. In speaking with the CBC, the head of Colorado’s Department of Public Health Dr. Larry Wolk said this: “The short answer is we have not seen much. We have not experienced any significant issues as a result of legalization. I think a lot of people think when you legalize you are going from zero to some high use number, but they forget that even when marijuana is not legal, one in four adults and one in five kids are probably using on a somewhat regular basis. What we’ve found since legalization is that those numbers haven’t really changed.”

5) The American Legion came out for cannabis. The venerable veterans organization is requesting further research regarding PTSD and traumatic brain injury and cannabis. Many veterans find cannabis to be a successful alternative to psychotropic drugs. Officials at the national American Legion are asking the federal government to allow Veterans Administration (VA) physicians to speak freely about medical marijuana to their patients. Presently, physicians are prohibited from talking about the plant as an option. The Legion with more than 14,000 posts nationwide has great potential to change public policy.

4) Northern Michigan University announced a marijuana major. Students will be able to major in medicinal plant chemistry at NMU, which offers America’s only bachelor’s degree in cannabis program. CH420 isn’t a slacker program though, it requires 120 credits of chemistry, biology, soils, genetics accounting and financial management classes. Its grads are bound to be in high demand. Way to go Wildcats!

3) Marijuana as a gateway out of opioid addiction. Opioid overdoses killed more 64,000 Americans in 2016 and that number is expected to increase this year. More and more research is leading the medical profession to look at marijuana as a gateway out of addiction to powerful painkillers. While more research needs to be done, marijuana shows promise in doing less harm and more good for patients with chronic pain. And you can’t overdose on marijuana.

2) Licensing for medical marijuana began in Michigan this year. It was a rough and tumble year in Lansing as LARA, the state’s regulating entity rolled out its rules on issuing licenses for people who want to grow, process, test, transport or provision medical marijuana. Dispensaries were threatened with closure by a state board, politicians stepped up to keep them open, liquid capital rates were set, municipalities opted in or out, and application materials were created. The licensing portal opened on December 15 and now we wait to see who will be first to show off their piece of legal paperwork.

1) Projections for cannabis job growth will exceed manufacturing by 2022. It’s an understatement to say that marijuana is a growth industry in that there are already 100,000 to 150,000 marijuana workers and about 90,000 people work in plant touching businesses. Cannabis and its ancillary businesses have created 43,000 full-time jobs in California, 23,000 in Colorado and 22,000 Washington. Michigan is the second largest medical marijuana state (next to California) and should have similar numbers for jobs when licenses are issued in this spring.

We look forward to the promise of a new year and all that it brings to cannabis-friendly people everywhere!

cannabis legalization, marijuana and taxes

June 20, 2017November 7, 2017Roberta King

Marijuana in Michigan=Job Creation

Cannabis is a Job Creator.

Without a doubt, Michigan is poised to be the next hot spot for marijuana jobs. With 9.5 million residents in Michigan compared to 5.4 million in Colorado, we’ll be a cannabis powerhouse as the industry grows and becomes normalized.

Michigan is Ready.

While the focus at present is on Michigan’s licensing of the medical use of cannabis, there is traction (petitions are now being circulated) for an adult-use ballot measure focused in 2018 and polls indicate that Michigan voters favor adult use legalization. An Epic MRA poll conducted in early 2017 indicated that 53 percent of likely voters favored legalization. Colorado holds the distinction of being America’s first adult-use state and that gives us an idea of the possible revenue generation in Michigan.

In early 2017, the revenue for the state of Colorado had pushed past $1 billion, that’s $1 billion of taxable money or about $200 million for state coffers. Imagine what Michigan, with twice the population, could do with $400 million in new tax dollars. And Pure Michigan could benefit from cannabis, too. Michigan attracts more tourists than Colorado—113.4 million people visit Michigan each year, compared to Colorado with 77.1 million. Nearly 24 percent of young people say that legal cannabis influenced their decision to visit Colorado.

High Growth Industry

As American manufacturing declines, jobs in the cannabis field are on the rise. According to a report from New Frontier Data, it is expected that by 2020 that legal cannabis will create more than a quarter of a million jobs. And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is more than new job creation in manufacturing, government, and utilities. It is expected that 300,000 jobs will be created in cannabis—and that doesn’t take into account states like Michigan, which is just now looking at legalizing adult-use of the plant. Empty warehouses in urban areas can be repurposed for growing facilities as they have in other metropolitan areas.

Grown in Michigan, It Stays in Michigan

All cannabis products grown within a state must stay in that state, it’s illegal to export across state lines. That includes plants and plant products like edibles, oils, tinctures and such. With this restriction, all monies (and jobs) connected with cannabis will benefit Michigan only. That means more payroll taxes, more city income taxes and to benefit people in the mitten state.

image of marijuana which is part of any new marijuana business

Uncategorized

May 25, 2017November 7, 2017Roberta King

Cannabis Taxes Are Improving Communities

“Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society.”

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. is credited for saying this in an opinion he wrote nearly 100 years ago.

We’ve been reflecting on this quote since our trip to Colorado on 4/20.

A Closer Look at Where the Money Goes

Consider this receipt from downtown Denver dispensary Native Roots. We found the tax details to be so interesting! For $48 in products we paid over 20% in taxes—that amounted to nearly an additional $10 on the transaction.

Frankly, we were delighted to pay it. In fact, we might even say that we felt altruistic seeing that we were supporting cultural facilities and RTD (Denver’s bus and rail service provider), in addition to paying the state and municipality taxes.

During our visits to dispensaries (at which there was always a healthy line of customers) we didn’t hear anyone whining over the seemingly hefty cannabis taxes. For us, this was a small price to pay for the chance to legally obtain marijuana products for recreational, adult-use. Cheers to Colorado for tapping into this vast new stream of tax revenue.

Let’s be honest, “stream” seems like an insignificant word to describe what this is really doing for Colorado. Tax flood, perhaps?

It has been reported that cannabis sales in Colorado last year easily topped $1 BILLION. From that, the state took in nearly $200 million in cannabis tax revenue. Data shows that this amount has been steadily increasingly over the past 3 years.

To be fair, cannabis taxes in Colorado are not (yet) enough to solve all societal woes there. This point was well covered last summer in this story from Colorado’s 9 News. Utopia,no. Better than nothing, for sure!

And the state has not yet reached its full potential when it comes to tax revenue. Not only are sales steadily increasing year-over-year, but now legislators are considering maxing out the recreational marijuana special sales tax to fix the budget. For our receipt above, this could equate to an additional $2.40. Would we pay it? In a heartbeat.

Adult Use Coming to Michigan?

While Colorado is an awesome state, we are really excited for what this could all mean for Michigan, with twice the population of Colorado and an active tourism industry, we could finally solve a few issues here (the pothole-riddled roads). Our enthusiasm elevated last week when our Board of State Canvassers approved the petition to put recreational, adult-use marijuana on the ballot in 2018, assuming the petitioners can garner enough (250,000) signatures with the 180-day time frame.

Help the cause and find a location near you to sign the petition today!

Uncategorized

May 4, 2017Roberta King

View From the Front Seat of the Cannabis Bus

It’s hard to find an experience that compares to a cannabis bus tour. Maybe be a basement pot party circa 1977; or perhaps a frat house at a Midwestern college known for partying or maybe if you have 30 friends who all love cannabis and happen to be in the same place at the same time. Put one of those experiences on wheels and you’ll get a feel for a Colorado Cannabis Tour. Our tour, on 4/21 was more fun than expected and an experience we’d recommend should you find yourself in the Mile High city.

The tour on a limo/party bus departed from The Cheeba Hut in downtown Denver, where tour staff checked IDs and distributed waivers. “You might want to get a sandwich—there’s no stop for lunch, but we do have plenty of water and pop,” she said. Advice taken.

Tour bus guides — Shannon and Dan (aka Dannon)

With sandwiches and chips in hand, we boarded and were welcomed by Dan and Shannon. They laid out the itinerary and the rules: use the red Solo cups with ice as ashtrays and remain seated. That was it. They also advised saving edibles for later, as people tend to eat too much resulting in a bad time. Fair enough.

Before the bus turned the corner, people fired up and got down to getting high. Joints, pre-rolls for the most part, were passed to the left, to the right and across the aisle. I observed a joint I started travel from hand to hand to the very back end of the bus and back up toward me again. It’s making a ‘J’, I thought to myself, laughing at the idea. I’d guess there were a dozen joints burning as we rolled along.

Our first stop was River Rock dispensary. It was good to get away from some of the crowded shops downtown that were packed for the high holiday. Our fellow bus riders loaded up, giving particular attention to the Kahlifa Kush (aka Wiz Kahlifa OG). We bought some edibles—thinking that we needed something inconspicuous to put in our luggage. Plus, who can resist a cannabis-infused chili chocolate bar?

We made another stop at a glass-selling shop—the owner—complete with a broken middle finger, told jokes while blowing a glass pipe. He was incredibly focused for a pothead playing with a thousand degree flame.

Owner of Medicine Man dispensary and a cannabis leaf — The Medicine Man and His Leaf

Third stop was Medicine Man, a well-established cannabis growing operation and dispensary where Pete Williams, a member of “The First Family of Legal Marijuana“, gave a tour of his growing operations where they’re harvesting more than 50 plants each day. He talked enthusiastically about the biology of cannabis growing and cloning processes. Despite his jokes about sexual harassment, (never funny, dude) it was the most educational and memorable part of the tour.

People smoking on a bus — Puff Puff Pass

In between stops, the guides talked a little about cannabis in Colorado. But, interesting data and factual information was missing, which would have been interesting, as many of the us were 4/20 visitors. A few more details about dollar amounts and where the taxes go specifically would have been cool—before everyone got too stoned to care. Dan and Shannon were good about passing out water and passing around a big bong and steamroller. There was no shortage of pot. They also shared a snack mix of gummy bears and popcorn—a previously unknown, but worthy combination.

Is a cannabis tour worth it? Like any experience, it’s all about what you put into it and what you’re looking for. This was just fun—a different place to smoke up with a bunch of like-minded strangers and get around Denver without having to think too hard about it.