With a lawsuit now filed by the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association against the state’s new 24% wholesale tax on marijuana products, what are marijuana retailers in Southwest Michigan saying?
We checked in with Richard Plangger, the founder of Krewe Cannabis in Benton Township, who tells us he thinks the tax strikes a fledging industry at the wrong time.
Plangger says the new tax could be viewed as overreach, especially considering it was passed at the last minute after lawmakers failed to meet their budget deadline. He thinks the tax will drive up prices for customers, sending those from out of state back home.
“A lot of the folks, especially in our area, they come here because the products are better and the price point is cheaper,” Plangger said. “But with this tax, and again, we’re assuming most of it is Illinois, Chicagoland. It’ll now kind of offset to they’re like, ‘Well, why do I drive an hour and a half away?'”
Plaanger also thinks the tax will be a boon to the black market, which is what always existed before Michigan voters chose to legalize marijuana in 2018.
“Not only are we outpricing and losing the out-of-state customer, but the folks here, the in-state, will probably go back.”
Plangger says if it’s legal for anyone to grow their own pot, then it stands to reason people will just buy it from those who grow it themselves. He says that happened in California, which just paused a marijuana tax hike for that reason.
Plangger doesn’t have a position on the new lawsuit, telling us he needs to know more, but he’s not a supporter of the tax.
