Lines clogged the streets of Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Sunday as three cannabis dispensaries prepared to open their doors to crowds anxiously awaiting inaugural sales of recreational cannabis in the state.
The line at Exclusive Brands, a dispensary in the college town, stretched around two and a half city blocks. The most ambitious in the queue, a young couple, had camped out there for more than 12 hours. The mood outside of the dispensary was festive despite the drizzle as shop owners distributed snacks and enticed enthusiasts with promotions and discounts as they waited in line.
“It was crazy here,” Exclusive Brands CEO Omar Hishmeh said. “We had people so happy to come in and they literally waited five hours in the line, and they were just so happy to be part of the movement.”
Exclusive Brands served about 900 customers on Sunday ー about six times the volume of the average day. And Hishmeh said flower was the most popular product, followed closely by gummies from KushyPunch. Sales across the entire state totaled $221,000 for that day, according to David Harns, a spokesperson at the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Three dispensaries opened in Ann Arbor in the morning, and one opened in Morenci, Michigan, in the evening, the Detroit Free Press reported.
The celebratory feeling among shoppers on Sunday mirrored that of lawmakers and activists, some of whom have spent decades chipping away at cannabis criminalization. State Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) has been at the forefront of regulation and legalization initiatives since 2010. He called Sunday’s milestone “huge,” but said that the real victory came months ago.
“There is a tremendous amount of talk right now about the rollout of adult-use sales and retail sales,” he said. “But I do like to bring it back to the reason I initially got involved in these issues ー which is the big victory. It isn’t so much about the commercialization of cannabis, it’s about restoring and protecting the freedoms of Americans.”
For lawmakers, like Irwin, and for activists in the state, the fight is far from over. Even as recreational sales shudder to a start, the state is facing shortages that can be traced back to licensing decisions made in the medical marijuana program. Nick Zettell, a lead organizer for Ann Arbor’s famous Hash Bash festival, said he was grateful that the state got sales up and running when it did, but anticipated recreational sales would exacerbate an existing medical cannabis shortage.
“There are already stores that have a lot of shelves bare, and we had to recall our vape cartridges in the state temporarily,” said Zettell, who formerly worked with MILegalize to push forward adult-use cannabis legislation. “I don’t think it will be quite like Canada, because they flipped the switch on the federal level, but in Michigan I have a lot of hope that we are going to have a thriving and robust market.”
As lawmakers firm up rules and regulations, he said he and other activists will be watching closely to make sure the law is enacted in accordance with the original intent of the bill, which was meant to be liberal and accommodating for Michiganders’ rights.
Matt Abel, Executive Director of Michigan NORML and founder of Cannabis Counsel, said he anticipated supply issues would get worse before they get better, and that a shortage of adult-use dispensaries in the state would limit access for potential customers. As it stands, Michigan municipalities, like those in Illinois, can choose to opt in or opt out of recreational cannabis. A vast majority of Michigan’s more than 1,700 municipalities have opted out ー at least for now.
“While we can’t necessarily stop [opting out], we can put it up for the vote. We expect there will be a good number on the ballot next November,” Abel said, later adding that “people should not have to drive to Ann Arbor to buy cannabis.”
Despite its challenges, many anticipate Michigan will ultimately have a very robust adult-use cannabis program. Market research firm Brightfield Group expects Michigan’s market will triple in size to $650 million between 2020 and 2023. The state already has the second largest medical cannabis patient population after California, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.
And according to Irwin, Michigan’s leadership in the Midwest could even contribute to progress on the federal level, if other states follow in its footsteps.
“The fact that Michigan legalized when it did and Illinois has followed means that the Midwest is moving more quickly than some folks, I think, realize toward legalization. Ohio moving with us would create an energy in Congress that would be hard to deny,” he said.
The past year has been historic for cannabis reform in Congress. The Republican-controlled Senate in July held a hearing on cannabis banking, after which the House passed the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in a historic vote in September. If made into law, the bill would provide a safe harbor for banks looking to service legal cannabis businesses. In late November, lawmakers answered calls to introduce equity-focused legislation by marking up the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019. The MORE Act, which seeks both to decriminalize cannabis and to re-mediate harms from cannabis criminalization, passed through the House Judiciary Committee in November.
Concerns over social equity, inclusion, and efforts to assist communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization have also commanded more attention at the local level. Michigan unveiled a social equity program earlier this year that offers discounted fees, assistance with license applications, and educational resources for people who qualify. Now that adult-use sales are up and running, Irwin said he has turned his focus to cannabis conviction expungement for Michigan residents. In July he introduced Michigan Senate Bill 416, which seeks automatic expungement for more than 235,000 eligible people.
"You've got communities of color that have been on the bottom of a cycle of exploitation for so many years. How do we use this new opportunity to provide some energy and some opportunity for people in that community, particularly people who themselves have been damaged by the war on drugs," Irwin said.
