Cannabis businesses seek amended ordinance
Falling medical sales leads to request for change
The downturn in medical cannabis sales has led dispensary owners to ask Oxford Township to change their marijuana ordinance.
At a February township meeting, dispensary owners asked the board to allow adult recreational cannabis sales as well as medical.
The township approved three provision center licenses in July 2022, but none of them have opened their doors for business yet. Frequency Wellness, LLC; Lifted Investments III, LLC; and Kurativ, LLC were the three companies approved.
Two licensees explained to the board that medical marijuana sales have plummeted over the past year and that they would need recreational licenses to stay in business.
“In the eighteen months since this township began the assessment of whether to get involved in the cannabis business, that business has changed substantially,” said Tom DeAgostino of Lifted Investments III. “Without recreational adult use here these three facilities, in my estimation, will probably fall prey to the other facilities that are offering recreational only.”
According to the state Cannabis Regulatory Administration, there has been a 31% decline in enrollment for medical marijuana patients in Michigan from 2020 to 2022; that decline in enrollment helped lead to a 58% drop in medical marijuana sales from November 2021 to November 2022. There has been a 64% drop in gross revenue in medical marijuana over the past two years, according to state records.
In 2020, the $954 million of the state’s marijuana revenue was evenly split between medical and recreational sales.
In 2022, nearly 86% or $1.8 billion of the state’s $2.1 billion in marijuana revenue was from recreational sales. Medical sales accounted for $242.6 million.
“Given the current patient trend towards ease and desire for accessibility in Michigan, only adult use sales of marijuana can sustain a licensed dispensary in any given municipality,” Greg Yatooma of Frequency Wellness wrote in a letter to the board. “Without an adult use permit, we are fearful that we may not
be able to open our doors for business.”
The board voted 5-2 to recommend that the township planning commission look into an amendment and hold public hearings. Treasurer Joe Ferrari and Trustee Jonathan Nold voted against the motion.
Township attorney Brittney Ellis said the board could vote on the amended ordinance in June. But Ferrari was skeptical.
“There is going to be a huge consolidation, I predict, from the middle to the end of the year. The market is changing every day,” he said. “If this doesn’t come back here until June, I don’t expect all three to be built.”
Supervisor Jack Curtis estimated that it will be at least eight to 12 months before any of the three businesses are ready to open their doors to customers.