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A new study published this week estimates the Michigan Marijuana industry, both legal and illegal, generated some $3.2 billion in sales last year, with less than a third, $985 million, purchased in adult-use and Medical marijuana licensed retail stores. The study also said one in five (two million) Michiganders reported cannabis use in 2020.

The study, from the Anderson Economic Group in Lansing, also said some 70 percent of Marijuana transactions still occur outside of retail stores, including about 30 percent from caregivers and medical home cultivation ($930 million), competition the Michigan Cannabis Manufacturers Association, which commissioned the study, said is untested, and unsafe.

The AEG report also concluded that roughly 39 percent of Michigan marijuana came from the black market ($1.24 billion), a number some in the industry question due to the lack of solid data.

“While there have been many successes in Michigan’s regulated cannabis industry, there are major storm clouds on the horizon,” said Stephen Linder, MCMA Executive Director. “The Anderson Economic Group study shows large quantities of untested, illicit cannabis continue flooding the market. This poses a significant threat to patient and consumer safety. The study makes clear Michigan can and should be a leader in cannabis safety, innovation and entrepreneurship. With this information in hand, we now have a full picture of Michigan’s cannabis market and a clear understanding of the challenges that lie ahead.”

The MCMA is a collection of a dozen or so very large, primarily vertical Marijuana companies that are licensed by the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency. MCMA members control a large percentage of the 400 licensed retail stores in the state. They have invested more than a billion dollars building these businesses, Linder said previously.

But by zeroing in on the huge caregiver market that the AEG study shows generated 30 percent of sales in 2020, versus 31 percent for adult-use and medical retail stores, critics contend the MCMA’s real intentions are to curtail if not eliminate the caregiver competition and force patients to buy from their members. One proposal floated in the Michigan legislature would reduce the number of plants caregivers can grow per patient from 12 to 3. Some industry experts worry the next step could be to apply the same reduction to personal use marijuana cultivation that under state law allows adults to grow 12 plants each year for personal consumption.

“The MCMA study makes several controversial conclusions, including total market size, the dollar value of the unregulated market, the equivalence in market share between caregivers and the 400 regulated market retailers, and many others,” said Rick Thompson, who helped the state develop caregiver rules a dozen years ago when the Medical marijuana market was created in Michigan.

“Until the Anderson Economic Group treats this like a scientific study by disclosing their sources and methodology, it is nothing more than a public relations exercise,” Thompson said.

“For example, there are 70,000 patients serviced by caregivers in Michigan,” he said. “The MCMA claims the cannabis sold to them (30 percent market share) is roughly equivalent to the regulated cannabis market in Michigan (31 percent share) during 2020. That market generated nearly $1 billion in sales. If 70,000 patients spent $1 billion on cannabis in 2020, their weekly cost would be approximately $250. That number is not in alignment with my personal experience, and is not backed by science and is not consistent with the lifestyle of a patient.”

Connie Sparrow of Sparrow Consulting agreed with Thompson:

“It would be helpful for the MCMA to release the full report, not just a two page summary, allowing others the ability to understand the only data source cited, Anderson Economic Group. If transparency isn’t priority, revealing the data sources that led to the reports conclusions, the study is nothing more than political propaganda.”

MRA Executive Director Andrew Brisbo, on Four20 Post streaming video show Wednesday, said the MRA has no plans to change any rules for caregivers. In the hour-long interview, Brisbo also discussed many other hot topics, including regulating the Tribal communities that want to grow marijuana for retail sales, testing and selling Delta-8 products in MRA licensed retail stores, potential new rules that would allow food and drink in marijuana consumption lounges, changes to cannabis events licenses, and more. You can watch the interview at https://mitechnews.com/news/four20-post-featuring-mra-exec-director-andrew-brisbo/

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