News Photo by Steve Schulwitz
Neighborhood Provisions owner Kevin Currier shows marijuana at the Alpena store on Friday. Sales of marijuana jumped over the last year and municipalities in Michigan are getting larger chunks of money from the tax on it.
ALPENA — Some local governments in Northeast Michigan that allow marijuana businesses to operate will receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue from a tax on the sale of the drug, the state announced on Thursday.
Local governments will be paid $59,086 for each legally qualifying marijuana business, the Michigan Treasury said Thursday. Last year, municipalities received $51,841 for each licensed marijuana retail store or microbusiness operating within their boundaries.
Local governments can use the money as they see fit.
The money comes from a 10% excise tax paid for each sale of the drug. A portion of the tax funds also goes toward education and transportation..
In Northeast Michigan, Alpena County was the big winner, as the state will cut it a check for $236,259. Alpena will receive $177,259 and Sanborn Township will receive $59,086 for the one dispensary in Ossineke.
Presque Isle County is slated to receive $118,172 and Rogers Township $59,086 for Meds Cafe, which was the first marijuana shop to open in Northeast Michigan.
Alcona County and Harrisville will each receive $118,172, while Montmorency County will get $59,086 for the shop in Atlanta.
Alpena Clerk/Treasurer Anna Soik said the city budgeted $150,000 for the marijuana tax payment in its current budget. She said the extra money is welcome and she suspects the Alpena Municipal Council will deposit it into the general fund.
“In the past, the council has decided to not earmark it for anything specific and use it for general operations,” she said. “I suspect that will be the case again. We’ll have to make a budget adjustment to add the balance of what we are receiving.”
Alpena County Board of Commissioners Finance Committee Chairman Burt Francisco said the county welcomes the higher payment because there are plenty of things the commissioners can use it for.
He said, however, he has some concerns with the growing amount of marijuana sold.
“It really is a double-edged sword,” Francisco said. “Obviously, any time we can add revenue, it’s a good thing, but it does concern me about the increased sales and use of the drug. That’s just a personal opinion.”
Not every community will receive checks from the state. Many townships and cities opted not to allow shops and other marijuana microbusinesses to open. The ballot proposal voters approved in 2018, which legalized adult use and sale of marijuana, also allowed communities to not allow marijuana businesses in their boundaries.
When they do so, however, they miss out on the revenue.
Rogers City Mayor Scott McLennan said his City Council didn’t expressly prohibit cannabis shops, but, to this point, the city hasn’t been approached about a marijuana dispensary.
He said that, if a developer showed interest, the city would do its due diligence and consider it, but he doesn’t think there are enough votes on the council to move forward with it. McClennan said the marijuana shop in Rogers Township is close enough to Rogers City for people to utilize.
“I think we’re happy there is a shop just outside of our business district,” he said. “I just don’t think there is an appetite on council to have one in the city, especially in the downtown.”
Aside from the more than $87 million in disbursements to municipalities and counties across the state, $101.6 million was sent to the state’s School Aid Fund for K-12 education and another $101.6 million went to the Michigan Transportation Fund.
For the 2024 state fiscal year, the state had more than $290.3 million available for distribution from the Marihuana Regulation Fund, which far exceeds the $198.4 million available for distribution last year.
Alpena’s Neighborhood Provisions was the first marijuana dispensary to open in Alpena County in 2022. Owner Kevin Currier said business has trickled upward locally, as more people learn about the health impacts of cannabis and its ability to help people ease pain, sleep better, or reduce stress.
He said much of the negative stigma surrounding the drug — which is still considered illegal by the federal government — is easing, and more people are open to trying it.
“There are more people who have been willing to try it and willing to trust us with something that is still kind of a touchy subject,” he said. “People are beginning to see others who are enjoying the benefits from it and they want to come in and try it for themselves. You are just overall seeing more acceptance of it.”
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