Native American Tribe in MI to Build Marijuana Grow Facility

A tribe in the Upper Peninsula has announced plans to make a marijuana grow facility independent of state oversight.

The Bay Mills Indian Community announced on Wednesday, August 19th the plan to break ground on a huge indoor grow facility near Sault Ste. Marie. This new plan would be independent of oversight from the State of Michigan and would compete with the state's existing medical and recreational market. The building of the new 10,000-plant facility could start as early as January of 2021.

As this new operation grows, supply stores would begin to pop up near the tribe's casino and on land that it owns near Gaylord, Port Huron, and Flint. The Bay Mills Indian Community is comprised of just over 2,000 tribal members and owns the Bay Mills Resort & Casinos. Bay Mills Indian Community would sell the marijuana on cooperating tribal lands.

As Native American lands are not subject to state law, many taxes and fees would not apply to the new operation. Application and licensing fees alone would cost around $206,000 for a grow operation of this size. Also, current state sales and other taxes about to about 16% for recreational marijuana sales in the state. The Bay Mills Indian Community would also like to set up a cooperative opportunity with the other tribes throughout Michigan as well.

The recreational marijuana market in Michigan is expected to make more than $1.5 billion in sales over the next year. I would say there is plenty of room for more operations like this in the State of Michigan.

Source: MLive