Six new Northeast Michigan cannabis shops mean big dollars communities could spend to combat problems some link to the increasing presence of legal marijuana in the region.
Alpena County leaders ended 2022 saying they didn’t know how they would spend the tens of thousands of dollars they anticipate flowing into the county from recreational marijuana taxes in 2023, thanks to the three shops that opened there this year.
Two other cannabis stores, in Presque Isle and Alcona counties, generaged about $340,000. Some of that money went to train a police dog to detect more-deadly drugs some police say are on the rise with the normalization of marijuana use after its introduction to the region via shops that opened beginning in 2019.
Health officials have used other state money to caution young people about potential dangers linked to underage use, an effort they hope community leaders will join as cannabis dollars come in.
Alpena Township officials have greenlighted stores there, and cannabis store owners say competition drives business up, potentially enticing more customers to the region and upping the potential tax revenue funneled back into the community.
As leaders decide how to most responsibly use that money, they will also have to mull whether to allow the shops to provide curbside service after one Alpena business challenged the legality of a cease-and-desist order.
A judge said that, for now, municipalities have the right to forbid a quick cannabis pickup, but they can decide to OK such shopping methods — a decision leaders may have to make in 2023.
This news was published by the Alpena News