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From 2018 to 2024, Michigan’s cannabis industry led job creation in the state from 2018 to 2024, accounting for 52% of jobs added to the net private sector, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency data analyzed by Crain’s Detroit Business.

The job creation is a key argument by the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association (MICIA) in a Court of Claims case. In that case, the association is pushing back against the implementation of a 24% wholesale tax, slated to take effect January 1. The group argues the tax violates the state’s constitution, which requires changes to voter-initiated laws to be passed by a legislative supermajority.

Attorneys for the state contend that the wholesale tax is lawful because it is distinct from the retail tax included in the voter-approved adult-use law and, therefore, does not need the three-fourths supermajority required to amend voter-initiated statutes.

In the lawsuit, Kevin Blair, a partner at Honigman and an attorney representing the MICIA, claims that the cannabis industry accounts for 50,000 of the roughly 60,000 jobs created since 2018. While Crain’s could not verify those claims, Rose Tantraphol, spokesperson for the MICIA, told Crain’s that figure is derived from multiple sources and includes ancillary jobs.

According to the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA), licensed medical and adult-use cannabis companies employed 41,359 direct employees as of October 31, representing a more than 163% growth in jobs since the CRA began counting industry employees in October 2021, when it counted 15,722 jobs. Through October this year, the state’s cannabis industry added 6,315 new jobs, marking an 18% growth rate, the report says.

A decision on the case is expected from Judge Sima Patel in the coming weeks.

TG joined Ganjapreneur in 2014 as a news writer and began hosting the Ganjapreneur podcast in 2016. He is based in upstate New York, where he also teaches media studies at a local university. More by TG Branfalt