Marijuana Business Magazine - April 2018

In 2016, the city council threw down the gauntlet. It enacted two new laws designed to shrink the industry – from an estimated 200- plus dispensaries to about 60 – by making it illegal for MMJ retailers to operate within the vast majority of legal business locations. Local cannabis activists fought back with a pair of municipal bal- lot measures in 2017, and they won. But now, city officials are trying to get those voter-approved initiatives thrown out in favor of maintaining a strict zoning clampdown on Detroit cannabis companies, and it’s not clear what the outcome will be. There are similar anti-MJ moves at the local level across Michigan, the same way towns and counties in Colorado and Oregon responded after those states enacted full legalization. All three states give a lot of defer- ence to towns and counties that want to opt out of the cannabis industry. That doesn’t mean Michigan won’t prove to be a good investment for the right operator. Even if rec legalization somehow fails this November – and I’d be willing to bet it won’t – that still leaves more than a quarter of a mil- lion medical cannabis patients wait- ing to be served. And there are also plenty of marijuana-friendly towns that have already embraced long- standing MMJ companies, with more likely to follow this year. All indications are that Michigan is ripe for professionals who are willing to build bridges with local govern- ments – which is what plenty of long- time existing dispensaries have done – and spend the necessary capital to get a medical marijuana business up and running. To be sure, there will be plenty of hurdles – as with any U.S. can- nabis market. But in the near term, Michigan could prove one of the more profitable states in which to run a marijuana business. ◆ John Schroyer can be reached at johns@mjbizdaily.com April 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 35