For most of his adult life, Marcus slung bags of high-quality marijuana to a discreet clientele in Detroit. The money was good, and the job was easy.
The 31-year-old says he made more than $1,000 a week, enough to pay the bills and stay out of the corporate grind that burned out his friends and family.
Editor’s note: The names in this story have been changed to protect confidentiality.
Then in November 2018, voters approved the legalization of cannabis for adult use in Michigan. A year later, dispensaries began cropping up in cities across the state.
At first, Marcus could compete with the dispensaries by offering lower prices for his hydroponic flower and cannabis concentrates.
The average cost of an ounce of flower was more than $500 at dispensaries in early 2020, while Marcus charged between $250 and $300 an ounce.
But as the legal market became more saturated, the prices began to plummet, and by April 2021, dispensaries were charging less for cannabis than Marcus could afford to sell his.
“I eventually had to give it up,” Marcus tells Metro Times. “Most of my customers ended up going to dispensaries. There was nothing I could do.”
By the summer of 2022, Marcus was out of business and looking for a job. He now works at a vape shop in metro Detroit, a more laborious job that pays less but still has its perks.
“At least I don’t have to look over my shoulder all the time,” Marcus says.
As the legal cannabis industry expands, illicit marijuana dealers are having a tough time maintaining their customer base. With lower prices and thousands of new products, underground dealers are finding it challenging to compete against the regulated market.
Licensed dispensaries and online retailers continue to open across the state, giving consumers legal avenues to purchase cannabis and reduce their reliance on illicit sources.
The legal market also has numerous regulations that ensure safety and accountability, giving buyers faith that the products they are purchasing are free from harmful contaminants and accurately labeled with information on potency and strains.
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