Ohioans are crossing border for Michigan marijuana, but police keeping an eye on state line

Kathleen Gray | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption First day of legal weed sales attracts hundreds to Ann Arbor Michigan logged its first day of recreational marijuana sales Sunday, attracting long lines to three shops in Ann Arbor.

MORENCI, Mich. — From the back door of Michigan Supply and Provisions in Morenci, manager Coleman LaBarr said he could probably throw a football and hit the Ohio state line.

So it should come as no surprise that a large percentage of the customers at the marijuana retail shop that’s less than a quarter-mile north of the Ohio border cross state lines to buy marijuana products.

"We are the number one destination for out-of-state customers," LaBarr said.

Indeed, Brian Thienel, the regional director for the company which also hopes to open shops in Ann Arbor, Emmett Township, Detroit and Grand Rapids, said that at least 50% of the shop's clientele comes from Ohio.

[Want to know more about Michigan's marijuana market? Click to sign up for Joint Venture, our free email newsletter.]

“We see really good traffic from Ohio, a really good influx,” he said. “Our phones have been ringing off the hook.”

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, just two days after recreational sales began at the Morenci shop, the parking lot bristled with Ohio, Indiana and Illinois license plates.

And on the first day of sales in Ann Arbor on Dec. 1, plenty of people from Ohio made the drive to one of the three open shops in the city. Brett Cole and Micheal Agrusso drove the 95 miles from Findlay, Ohio, to take advantage of the grand opening at Exclusive Brands in Ann Arbor.

Cole said he got hooked on opiates when he was diagnosed with cancer as a kid, but eventually turned to marijuana. He didn’t even mind that he had a four-hour wait to get into the shop.

More: 2-week total for Michigan marijuana sales: $3.1 million, $515,051 in tax revenues

More: What you need to know as recreational marijuana sales begin in Michigan

"At 18, I went to alternative medicine because that was the better choice for me. It was a healthier options with less damage to the body," he said. "I've been waiting for 10 years for legalization, so this is great."

But Ohio only has medical marijuana, so out-of-state buyers are taking a risk when coming to Michigan for the newly minted legal weed market.

While Michigan marijuana retailers are allowed to sell medical marijuana to residents with medical marijuana cards from other states, including Ohio, Ohio doesn’t have the same reciprocity.

So Ohio residents who get caught by their hometown cops with Michigan marijuana could face misdemeanor possession charges that carry a $150 fine.

“Less than 100 grams is a minor misdemeanor and we would say anybody found in possession of marijuana is a problem," said Sgt. Craig Cvetan, spokesman for the Ohio Highway Patrol. “There are other states that have legalized recreational use marijuana, but we have always been active in criminal interdiction.”

Ohio’s medical marijuana program started in September, 2018, and there about 75,000 registered patients who can access product at 45 licensed dispensaries in the state. Ohio patients can purchase up to one-tenth of an ounce of marijuana a day. The state has registered $50 million sales since the market began.

But recreational sales to adults could be a long shot, said Thomas Haren, an attorney with the Frantz Ward law firm in Cleveland.

“I don’t know if Ohio is there yet," he said while speaking at the MJBiz Conference in Las Vegas earlier this month. "The political environment isn’t great because we’re a very conservative state.”

Cannabis activists could embark on a ballot proposal in Ohio, Haren said, but even though polling numbers show 50% or more approval, “Those campaigns are really expensive.”

So in the meantime, cannabis users should be mindful of the consequences. First, since marijuana remains federally illegal, it’s a crime to bring pot across state lines. And about 20,000 Ohioans are arrested a year for marijuana possession, according to the Drug Policy Alliance, a New York agency that tracks policy surrounding marijuana.

“Law enforcement folks in northwest Ohio are really paying attention to Michigan,” Haren said. “Make no mistake, our state highway patrol are going to be looking for Ohio plates coming back across the border.”

Cvetan said the highway patrol will continue to keep an eye on the border.

“We work those areas where we know we’ll come in contact with people in possession,” he said. “But marijuana is present all throughout the state. Our officers are trained to do traffic stops and look for those indicators.”

At Michigan Supply and Provision, budtenders don’t automatically tell customers about the border issue and they haven’t heard about an increase in arrests along Ohio State Route 108, the road that leads from Ohio to Michigan.

“It’s not something that we would broach with customers,” Thienel said. “But we’ll let them know the different state regulations.”

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.