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