Cannabis growers and industry insiders descended on the Cannabis Regulatory Agency earlier this month at the Capitol to voice their frustrations over the state of the market and their belief that no one is listening.
CRA Director Brian HANNA announced that the price of flower has reached a historic low of $65.21 per ounce and total sales have fallen for the third month in a row, down to $246.6 million. Public commenters signaled layoffs and buyouts. They also pointed fingers at illicit cannabis-related products being sold at gas stations and suggested a cap on the number of growers allowed in the state.
“We all know it’s burning down around us, but we’re still trying to put this facade on that it’s OK. It’s not OK. Nothing’s OK,” said Matt IMIG, owner of M&M Agriculture in Lansing.
Michigan Cannabis Industry Association Executive Director Robin SCHNEIDER confirmed that Imig wasn’t the only one in the industry who felt that way as layoffs and closures sweep through the industry.
“I often hear my members say they just don’t know what else they can cut out of their budget. They’ve stripped their budgets down to the bare minimum, and they’re looking for more ways to make cuts within the company to try to stay afloat,” Schneider said.
She pointed to the overabundance of cannabis being grown and an ongoing problem with illicit cannabis oil in the market.
A loophole in the sale of illicit oil is expected to be closed under the new rule set that the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) is reviewing (See “CRA Rules Close Loopholes, Gives More Power To Fight Black Market Bleed,” 11/25/24).
Schneider and more than 100 cannabis industry insiders were at the Capitol to lobby against the 32 percent grower tax proposed by Gov. Gretchen WHITMER as a way to fix the roads. The House transportation package that passed out of the House did not include the cannabis tax.
“The wholesale tax doesn’t work because there are no margins for the growers to absorb a wholesale tax. They’re already failing,” she said.
Read more at MIRS News