Cannabis dispensaries are advertised on billboards and online. Sanford opened its first dispensary last November, and there are a couple of grow operations in Midland and Bay counties.
A new local documentary aims to shed light on the industry. Produced by Ron Beacom and Bob Przybylski, “Cannabusiness: Marijuana on Main Street” seeks to inform people about the business and science of growing marijuana in Michigan.
Produced by Delta College Public Media, the film will premiere at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 23 on Delta College Public TV. Those who are subscribed to PBS Passport can watch the 58-minute documentary right now.
“We’re not presenting that we’re in favor. We also present from people who are concerned (about cannabis),” Beacom said. “I hope when they watch the piece, they feel it’s well-rounded, they learn a lot about it, and also understand what people’s concerns are.”
The idea was bounced around for a while before kicking into gear after Beacom and Przybylski’s last documentary, “Breached,” which dealt with the dam breaches in May 2020.
Przybylski is from Bay City while Beacom is from Midland, so they thought it would be a good idea to educate people on new developments happening in their region and beyond.
Przybylski was surprised at how easy it was to get “behind the green curtain.”
“We thought it was going to be hard to get people to talk with us,” he said. “They are more than willing. They were really happy to talk with us.”
The business side of the industry stands out to Przybylski. He remembers entering a cannabis conference at Soaring Eagle in Mount Pleasant, and most people there were financial and legal advisors.
“I’m really proud of it,” he said of the documentary. “There’s a lot of information (and) I think people are going to be surprised about the amount of money involved, the science involved in it, but also about the employment opportunities that (we) are getting in the community.”
Ben Jodway is the Education Reporter with the Midland Daily News. Email him at benjamin.jodway@hearst.com.
Be the first to comment