What Ohio could learn from Michigan’s recreational marijuana experience

On Tuesday, customers — some in Ohio State University jerseys — openly perused shelves of cannabis products ranging from plant product to vapes and edibles.

Jacobson said many customers come in asking for something to help them sleep, while others want something to help them have an appetite. Other customers report issues with neuropathy and want a product to help them manage pain.

Still others, as Jacobson put it, just want to feel “centered” or “have a good time.”

“And we’re here to help them all,” he said.

If voters approve Issue 2, Ohio would join the roughly two dozen states where it’s legal for adults to buy cannabis recreationally.

Issue 2 would expand the state’s existing regulatory framework for medical marijuana to create a legal recreational market for adults 21 years old or older.

Shopping at a dispensary

Customers coming into Amazing Budz line up in the lobby of the main entrance, where they’re greeted by a dispensary worker standing on the other side of a teller-style window.

From there, they can pass off their valid state-issued photo ID to confirm their age and identity with dispensary staff before they are permitted into the retail portion of the building.

And it doesn’t matter what state that person comes from, Jacobson said. People entering the shop just need to be 21 or older and have a valid photo ID.

Customers first see the medical marijuana section of the store as they walk in. Michigan created a legal medical marijuana program more than 10 years before legalizing recreational use.

Amazing Budz started off as a medical marijuana dispensary in 2018 but expanded to include recreational products in 2020. His shop still sees customers coming in who are a part of the state’s medical marijuana program.

The rest of the shop contains shelves lined with recreational products: “flower,” edibles, vape products, and even patches and creams. Dispensary workers stand behind counters to ring up customers or come onto the sale floor to help people select what product may be right for them.

Jacobson said his customer base is a mix of young adults and older folks.

“We really have people from all walks of life come here,” Jacobson said. “A microcosm, a melting pot, is happening right in our parking lot.”

Once customers leave with their purchases, they can use them in the privacy of their own homes or take them to a licensed lounge — smoking marijuana products in public space is prohibited under Michigan law.

In a secure room out of sight of customers, dispensary workers — called bud tenders — work to package products and organize medical and recreational items in color-coded bins.

Jacobson said his dispensary buys plants from cultivators all over Michigan. His state’s recreational program tracks all legal marijuana products from seed to sale, and anything that goes onto a shelf has been tested at a laboratory.

State regulation, federal drawbacks

Jacobson pointed to the creation of standards for what can be sold and what cannot go out to customers as a benefit of the state’s recreational marijuana program.

“Lab testing is a safeguard,” he said. “And before now, things could be laced with something that was really harmful.”

Jacobson said his area also sees financial benefits from the presence of dispensaries: job creation, the encouragement of tourism and tax revenue coming back to the community.

In total, more than $1.8 billion in adult-use marijuana sales was reported by the state in the 2022 fiscal year. More than $59.5 million in disbursements went to municipalities and counties earlier this year. An additional $69.4 million was sent to Michigan’s school fund for K-12 education and another $69.4 million to the state’s transportation fund, according to Michigan’s Department of Treasury.

But an obstacle that states moving to legalize recreational marijuana have before them is the inability of dispensaries to use federal banks. This creates a burden for dispensary businesses, but it also can put them at risk for theft.

This was the case for more than 20 dispensaries who were the target of thefts. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office issued a dozen warrants related to the crimes.

“Without access to traditional banking the cannabis industry is left as a ripe target for criminals,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in a media release. “Any legal business should have fair access to our banking institutions for the security of their own business and employees as well as public safety.”

The Dayton Daily News in June reported that since medical marijuana was legalized in Ohio in 2016, medical dispensaries in Dayton — which are also cash-only operations — have seen little police activity and no violent crime.

Opposition feared crime, addiction

Jacobson said that he heard many concerns from his relatives, who have law enforcement backgrounds, when Michigan’s adult-use program was proposed and later came into effect.

Some of those fears centered on violent crime and other public safety concerns.

Jerald James, the assistant executive director of the Michigan Association of Police, told Minnesota Public Radio News many voiced concern over legalization’s impact on traffic accidents.

“But it just has not panned out to reflect negatively at this point,” he said.

Michigan police agencies did tell the Detroit Free Press about changes within their agencies following the legalization of recreational marijuana. Agencies reported they were training officers on how to approach complaints related to marijuana. Police leaders said they expected an uptick in “high driving” after legalization went into effect.

Michigan State Police officials said they took the change in stride.

“The fallacy that there’s going to be all this marijuana out there is just that, a fallacy,” said Lt. Michael Shaw of the Michigan State Police. “It’s already always been out there, so this isn’t a big deal to us.”

Others opposing both recreational and medical marijuana legalization feared marijuana legalization would impact addicted people and increase marijuana use among youth.

Detroit officials say suspensions for paraphernalia and drug possession in the city’s school district increased substantially after recreational marijuana was legalized, and the availability of the drug caused a reduced perception of its risk among city youth. There are also persistent concerns about accidental overdoses, especially with young children and edibles.

Some are proposing steering more revenue from the state program into youth substance abuse prevention programs.

Ohio clientele

Dean Derth drove more than four hours on Tuesday to the Michigan border town to make purchases for himself and his girlfriend at Amazing Budz. He’s hoping Issue 2 will pass this fall, but he’s uncertain if it will.

He said the measure would, at the very least, save him driving time.

Jacobson said he realizes his Ohio customers may find dispensaries closer to their homes if Issue 2 passes. But he said he thinks legalization would benefit Ohio.

“It’ll be big for business, safety and accessibility,” he said.