Monroe County has a thriving marijuana industry -- signs offering all things marijuana line the highway, with many options. On any given day, there are plenty of Ohio license plates at all the businesses.
Now that Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved recreational marijuana, it means Michigan is no longer the only game in town.
“It is definitely going to impact some stores particularly on the southern border of Michigan because they get a lot of activity, that’s one reason why a lot of people wanted a store in Monroe because they are getting people coming from Ohio,” said attorney Barton Morris.
Morris was at the forefront of cannabis law when it was first legalized in Michigan. Getting Ohio to a point where it can compete with Michigan’s industry is several years away, and Morris still sees plenty of room for growth in Michigan’s weed industry. He also sees it as a further normalization of recreational marijuana.
“They want to get rid of the illicit market,” said Tom Hearn, who is a spokesman for the Ohio marijuana initiative. “They want to bring that tax revenue back from the state of Michigan and invest that money right back into their local communities here.”
Capturing tax revenue, which was going to Michigan, was one of that group’s key talking points in pushing for passage. Last year, Michigan netted more than $281,000,000 in pot tax revenue. Ohio is forecasting netting $276,000,000 on the low end.