GWINN, Mich. (WZMQ) – If and when marijuana is reclassified, those in the cannabis industry will be able to deduct business expenses from their taxes, a benefit that would be felt immediately.
“That would reduce their tax burdens substantially, in many cases, by around half overnight,” said Nathan Joyal, NMU assistant professor of cannabis studies.
Even with the growing acceptance of marijuana, market forces will continue to be survival of the fittest. Here in Michigan, which has the highest per capita sales of marijuana in the country, many dispensaries fail due to market saturation, low wholesale prices, consolidation by large companies, and supply outpacing demand.
“At first, it was really easy to make money at it, you know? And so a lot of people saw that and sort of got dollar signs in their eyes and jumped into it. I do think part of what we’re seeing is people who were just in it for the money are the first to bail, and so increasingly, the only people that are still involved in it are people that are really passionate about it,” said Joyal.
Which is good news for growers like Boreal Cannabis in Gwinn, who are Michigan’s only Envirocann-certified operation on par with California’s very strict standards.
“It’s not the easy way. Organics is certainly the harder way, but it’s also very rewarding, in my opinion, and when you do it in the fashion that we do, it saves us a tremendous amount of money. So we’re happy to be doing it,” said Mike Guzynski, chief grower at Boreal Cannabis in Gwinn.
The state of Michigan is counting on a robust cannabis industry to fix our roads, taxing weed sales at a cumulative rate of 51%. It really is pot for potholes.
