Michigan
Michigan dispensaries wait and watch as Ohio votes on recreational marijuana. Here’s why
Ohio voters will decide Tuesday whether to approve a proposed law to legalize recreational marijuana, which would allow people 21 and older to buy, possess and grow recreational marijuana.
Proponents say it will bring in tax dollars that Ohio residents are currently sending to Michigan.
But Michigan dispensary owners are some of the biggest opponents of the proposal, the spokesperson for the group behind the effort to legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio has said.
That’s because it’s widely acknowledged that Ohio residents cross state lines to buy marijuana in Michigan and if it becomes available in Ohio, that could mean fewer customers for Michigan dispensaries, leading to an oversupply of marijuana that could drive prices even lower than what they’ve fallen to in the last few years.
Counting on Ohio customers
There are a slew of dispensaries near the Ohio border. Monroe, Michigan, about a 30-minute drive from Ohio’s fourth-largest city by population, Toledo, has more than a dozen dispensaries. Morenci, Michigan, which shares its southern border with Ohio and has a population of about 2,000, has five recreational marijuana dispensaries.
Michigan dispensaries even advertise their proximity to Ohio on their websites and on signs displayed at their stores.
Green Labs Provisions’ website, a medical and recreational dispensary in Luna Pier, south of Monroe, describes itself as “Only 15 Minutes from Downtown Toledo” on its website.
That’s a big reason why the company chose to open a dispensary in Luna Pier, said Sean Lyden, president of Green Labs Provisions. Lyden said he, and some of the owners of the company, are from the Toledo area.
“We’re already Ohio people,” he said. “We love the fact that we have so many great Ohio customers and that they already know and love our brand and will continue to stay loyal to us, hopefully.”
Lyden estimates more than half of the dispensary’s customers are from Ohio and are both medical marijuana patients and recreational shoppers. Ohio legalized medical marijuana in 2016.
Lyden said he’s not particularly worried about what happens Tuesday because “we feel that our level of quality and our established customer base is going to remain loyal to us even if some stores pop up across the border.”
While it’s legal for an out-of-state visitor to buy recreational marijuana in Michigan, it’s illegal for them to drive the products to states where recreational marijuana isn’t legalized. However, there’s no way for stores to verify where customers are traveling after they make a purchase.
Setting the price of marijuana in the Midwest
Not all cannabis company executives are as optimistic about what happens to Michigan’s cannabis industry if Ohio, and other Midwest states, legalize recreational marijuana.
Dave Morrow, founder and CEO of Lume Cannabis Co., one of the biggest cannabis companies in Michigan, describes that scenario as a “gigantic shoe to fall.”
Morrow said in an interview with the Detroit Free Press earlier this year that he estimates about one-third of the cannabis sold in Michigan is leaving the state. Lume has dispensaries in Adrian, Monroe and Petersburg, all Michigan cities near the Ohio border, and in locations that border other states.
In Ohio, he said, prices for medical marijuana are higher compared with prices for recreational marijuana in Michigan. Indiana hasn’t legalized marijuana for medical or recreational purposes. Illinois has, but prices are also higher compared with prices in Michigan, Morrow said.
Marijuana prices have declined drastically in Michigan compared with what prices were during the recreational industry’s early days in 2020. The average retail price for an ounce of recreational marijuana flower was $100.14 in September, according to data from Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency, compared with $393.66 in September 2020, a 75% decrease.
Lyden said he hears from Ohio medical marijuana patients that prices have dropped so much in Michigan that it doesn’t even make sense for them to pay the fees to keep and renew their medical marijuana cards.
What that means though, according to Morrow, is that Michigan is effectively setting the price for the rest of the Midwest.
“If you’re in northern Ohio, all your customers are already used to paying the market price,” he said. “You’re not going to be able to charge them $6,000 a pound. If you go ahead and put it out at that price, everyone’s going to say, ‘Yeah, right. I’m going to keep driving to Michigan.’ “
If Ohio legalizes recreational marijuana, along with other border states like Indiana and Wisconsin, “it will immediately create a massive oversupply issue in Michigan,” Morrow said.
More on the marijuana industry: Tours of Michigan cannabis companies reveal inner workings of marijuana business
More on the marijuana industry: Michigan cannabis regulator recalls certain Viola edibles for excessive THC
A ‘yes’ vote for recreational marijuana begins a long process
However, even if Ohio does legalize recreational marijuana and prices are comparable to Michigan’s, it will likely be at least a year before dispensaries start to open in Ohio, said Scott Johnson, a member of the law firm Eastman & Smith, which is based out of Toledo.
That’s because it needs to go to the Ohio state legislature, where adjustments can be made because it’s an initiated statute, not a constitutional amendment. The legislature will have to pass rules and regulations and essentially put them into place, Johnson said.
He anticipates that if the measure passes, the state would handle the recreational marijuana industry similar to what it’s done with medical marijuana and liquor, where prospective licensees must first be qualified to receive a license and then are entered into a lottery to receive a capped number of licenses.
The market research firm BDSA predicts that if Ohio voters legalize recreational marijuana, sales will start in 2025 and by 2027, the state will see $1.3 billion in recreational marijuana sales.
Michigan, meanwhile, is forecast to bring in $3.7 billion in recreational marijuana sales in 2027, BDSA said, more than double Ohio’s predicted sales. That’s up from $2.8 billion in sales expected this year.
Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com.
Michigan
Michigan man charged with arson after allegedly setting house, vehicles on fire
CLARE COUNTY, MI – A Michigan man is accused of trying to burn his own house down and destroying multiple cars and sheds in a fire, police say.
Cameron Hill, 36, was arrested Saturday, Jan. 25, after he allegedly started several fires on his property, according to a news release from the Clare County Sheriff’s Office. The Hayes Township man was arraigned this week on one count of second degree arson and one count of third degree arson.
The Harrison Fire Department was dispatched at 2:58 p.m. Saturday on reports of a possible vehicle fire at a residence on the 5100 block of Fishing Site Road in Hayes Township. The caller reportedly told dispatchers he saw black smoke and heard “explosions” in the area.
Firefighters arrived to find several different fires burning in the yard and saw Hill trying to start more fires, according to the release.
Hill allegedly lit several vehicles on fire, one of which he owned and two that were owned by a family member. He also set two sheds ablaze on his property. Police said Hill had poured gasoline inside his home and was trying to light the gas on fire to try and burn the house down, according to the release.
Hill was unsuccessful in his effort to completely burn the house down, but the home did sustain damage from the fire and smoke, the sheriff’s office said.
The vehicles, sheds and its contents were destroyed by the fires, according to the release.
No one was injured in the fires, authorities said.
Hill was arrested and lodged in the Clare County Jail, and he later was arraigned in 80th District Court. His bond was set at $1 million.
In Michigan, second degree arson is defined as when a subject willfully or maliciously burns, damages or destroys by fire a dwelling regardless of whether it is occupied or unoccupied by fire or explosion. Third degree arson involves willfully burning, destroying, or damaging by fire or explosion any building or structure, or its contents having a value of $20,000 or more. It doesn’t matter if the person owns the building, property or its contents, according to the release.
Michigan
Should new Michigan voters provide proof of citizenship? House Republicans think so.
A ballot proposal by Michigan House Republicans would both reject votes cast without photo ID and require new voter registrants to show proof of U.S. citizenship.
A top House Republican, calling the measures a “no-brainer,” said they would enhance voter security. However, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson countered that they would “gut Michiganders’ voting rights in our state constitution.”
“Only U.S. citizens should vote in our elections,” said state Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford. “And people should have to show ID when voting to prove that they are who they say they are. That’s just common sense.”
The proposed constitutional amendment is unlikely to pass the state Legislature, as it requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers. While Republicans have a majority in the House, they would need to pursuade Democrats in both chambers.
Posthumus said it would be “political suicide” for Democrats not to support the measure.
If the legislature passed the measure, the proposed constitutional amendment would be placed on the ballot for voters to decide.
Benson called the proposal a failed policy that has been overturned in other states for “being blatantly unconstitutional.” She also claimed that in other states it has created a separate and unequal system of voting access for citizens or blocked “tens of thousands of eligible voters from casting their legal ballot in an election.”
“I stand with the people of Michigan who have overwhelmingly passed ballot measures to make voting more accessible and to enshrine citizens’ voting rights into our constitution,” she said. “We need to hold the line on protecting every eligible citizen’s constitutional right to cast a ballot in every election and get back to the business of working together on honest proposals to keep Michigan’s elections safe, secure and accessible.”
According to Votebeat, Arizona is the only state to enforce proof of citizenship requirements.
After legal challenges to those requirements, Arizona now allows those without citizenship proof to vote only in federal elections, while those providing citizenship proof can vote in state, federal and local elections, according to Arizona voter instructions.
The proposed constitional amendment comes after a Chinese national allegedly cast his ballot during the 2024 presidential election in Michigan. That man, a University of Michigan student, faces criminal charges.
The other way the Michigan proposal could get on the ballot is by garnering enough petition signatures. A group called Prove it, Michigan has already vowed to start a petition drive if the legislation fails.
Currently, voters don’t need a photo ID to vote in person. They can sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury if they don’t have one.
The proposed constitutional amendment would require a valid photo ID to vote. If voters don’t have one, they can sign an affidavit and cast a provisional ballot, but that ballot won’t be counted unless a photo ID is presented within six days.
Absentee voters would have to verify their identity by providing a copy of their ID, a driver’s license number, state personal identification number, or the last four digits of their social security number.
Currently, voters requesting an absentee ballot online must provide the last four digits of their Social Security number along with a photo ID number or acknowledgement that they do not have a photo ID.
Under the proposal, the state would provide free photo ID to people who cannot afford it. State IDs cost $10 and some residents are already eligible for a free ID.
Michigan doesn’t require residents to show proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. However, new registrants must attest under penalty of perjury that they are a U.S. citizen and that the information about their identity and residency is accurate.
The proposed constitutional amendment would require all new voter registrants after Dec. 18, 2026, to provide proof of U.S. citizenship or have the Secretary of State verify their citizenship. Proof of citizenship would not be required for every election.
Lawmakers would later define the acceptable forms of proof of citizenship.
The state would also have to routinely verify the citizenship of all voters in the statewide qualified voter file.
Posthumus said citizenship proof requirements would help prevent instances of noncitizens voting in elections, citing the incident last fall where a Chinese student at the University of Michigan allegedly cast his vote in the presidential election.
That student, Haoxiang Gao, faces criminal charges. He allegedly used his student identification and documents showing his Ann Arbor residency to register to vote.
Chinese University of Michigan student arraigned for illegally voting
Posthumus said the incident proves that non-citizen voting is a “real problem that needs to be fixed.”
“No citizen should ever have their vote canceled out by a non-citizen voting the opposite direction,” he said.
However, Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit said at the time that noncitizen voting is “an extremely isolated and rare event.”
Michigan
Michigan House adopts new budget transparency
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