BUCHANAN DISPENSARY OWNERS WORRIED ABOUT HIGHER TAXES, MORE COMPETITION

By:  Stan Maddux

A man growing marijuana for his dispensary in Buchanan is more concerned about increased competition and higher taxes than a possible ban on advertising the drug in Indiana where it remains illegal.

R.J. Walpole is co-owner of Smoke Lifted, a dispensary and grow operation that opened just over a year ago at 303 Carrol St.

He’s more afraid of losing customers, particularly from Illinois, if Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is successful in her push for an extra 32 percent tax on marijuana bought from dispensaries in the state.

Currently, a 10 percent state excise tax and six percent sales tax are levied on every marijuana purchase.

An increase in marijuana taxes is part of her plan to generate $3 billion in additional revenue to fix roads and other infrastructure.

Walpole said a number of his customers are from Illinois, who prefer the much lower prices of marijuana products in Michigan made possible by taxes here that are much lower now than what’s assessed at dispensaries in the “Land of Lincoln.”

He’s afraid second homeowners in the area won’t stop in as much before heading back to the Chicago area and those living there full-time won’t be as willing to make the weekend drive here to save greatly on their purchases.

“I think that’s what’s going to hurt us more than anything,” he said.

Walpole is his own supplier from the 300 marijuana plants raised in several grow rooms at his dispensary, which became the sixth one to open in Buchanan.

He’s also more worried about losing customers making the short trip from Indiana if that state caves in to mounting pressure and legalizes marijuana at some point.

For now, though, Walpole said business at his shop continues to rise.

“We thought December, January and February would be our slow months and, really, we’re still on the upward climb,” he said.

Walpole said he doesn’t advertise in Indiana and believes dispensaries in Michigan that do would not be impacted much if the state imposes a ban on advertising pot.

He said Indiana residents already know where to go to legally purchase the drug. The advantage of advertising for marijuana shops is to distinguish themselves from the others and provide specific locations to their stores.

“Indiana knows Michigan is legal so they’re coming to Michigan either way. It’s just a matter of how can they find you,” he said.

The proposed advertising ban was supported on February 18 in a unanimous vote by the city council in Michigan City, Ind.

The city’s corporate boundaries nearly extend to Michigan along U.S. 12 where nearly a dozen marijuana shops exist on the opposite side of the Indiana border.

Another dozen or more dispensaries in Michigan also exist on the other side of the state line along nearby Interstate 94.

Councilman Don Przybylinski said especially children in his community “should not be exposed to such advertising in their home environments.”

Councilwoman Daisy Lee, a public school teacher, said marijuana dispensary advertising, particularly among children, seems to “normalize” the use of products still producing arrests in the state.

She was also concerned because dispensary products like THC cartridges are similar to the vapes students are using in school restrooms for nicotine, the addictive ingredient in tobacco.

“When these things are advertised constantly, it makes it more o.k. for the kids to have access to it,” she said.

Michigan City resident, Tommy Kulavik, seemed a bit outraged at being a target for advertisers of products still classified under federal law as a controlled substance.

“I’m kind of getting sick and tired of getting all of their marketing material and advertising letters in my mailbox,” he said.

Scott Mellon also of Michigan City said he understands both sides of the advertising issue but the proposals, if adopted, would be an example of government overreach and possibly challenged in the courts based on freedom of speech laws protected in the U.S. Constitution.

“We can’t protect kids from the world. You think kids don’t know what’s available across the border?  They know,” he said.

The proposed advertising ban is before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A proposal that would prohibited billboards advertising marijuana dispensaries away from school bus routes, playgrounds and other places where children, typically, congregate is the House Committee on Commerce and Technology.

So far, no hearings have been scheduled to consider any of the proposals.