R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press Elevated Exotics

R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press
Wacky Jackz

ESCANABA — Tourism season brings commerce to the area for many businesses, including those in the cannabis industry. However, reports show that dispensaries around the country are struggling to remain successful.

In Michigan, recreational marijuana — state-licensed sale of which began in December 2019 — is popular with both residents and visitors. At area dispensaries, managers say that a number of things bring people into their establishments and the Upper Peninsula.

When cannabis dispensaries in Escanaba first opened, a lot of traffic came from Wisconsin, where the product remains illegal. Now that there are more retailers, including several closer to the border in Menominee, the traffic is more widely distributed.

But out-of-state customers choosing to shop in Michigan aren’t just drawn from places where cannabis is outlawed. Some come from places where the product is taxed more heavily.

“A lot come from Chicago, because (Illinois) has crazy expensive taxes,” said Hillary Mills, assistant manager at Wacky Jackz. “That’s why some people will drive up here, just because, even with their gas and their stay, it’s still cheaper.”

In Illinois, any product that contains more than 35% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary active ingredient in cannabis) is taxed 25%, edibles and other infused products carry a 20% tax, and other products with less than 35% THC are taxed 10%.

In Michigan, all retail cannabis is taxed just 10%.

When Illinois residents purchase cannabis products in Michigan, there’s technically no legal way they can drive it home. Besides being outlawed at the federal level, marijuana products are illegal to possess in both Indiana and Wisconsin.

Though some certainly disregard the law and risk the transport anyway, Mills — who works at the Wacky Jackz in Gladstone but started at the Rapid River location — said that she often hears people say that they’re making a trip out of it. Chatting as their product is weighed and rung up, out-of-staters tell her that they’re heading to Pictured Rocks or Mackinac Island.

Mills said that shoppers from other regions also appreciate the time and care taken by staff in the U.P. and have said that at dispensaries in Chicago, customers are rushed in and out.

Of course, many shoppers aren’t traveling to Michigan solely to buy cannabis. Many are tourists coming to the Great Lakes States for the same reasons they always have — to lounge on the beautiful beaches, admire the natural landscapes, hike and camp in the untainted Northwoods.

“A lot of our traffic is from Wisconsin and Michigan, but we do still see Colorado, California, Florida, Minnesota, and from all over the state coming through,” said Inventory Manager Emyett Marohnic at Elevated Exotics.

Located in downtown Escanaba, Elevated Exotics also sees some traffic from the cruise ships that dock just blocks away.

Memorial Day weekend was “an unexpected peak” at Wacky Jackz, and now that it’s June, business has picked way up, Mills reported.

The first of the small business’s two locations — found on U.S. Highway 2 between Rapid River and Manistique, right near the intersection with Federal Forest Highway 13 — gets a lot of campers and hunters, and they experienced an uptick in sales during hunting season.

Also noting they saw a surge when tourist season kicked off is Lume, a Michigan-based cannabis company that opened a location in Menominee, a border town, a year and a half ago.

“Demand … has been high at our Menominee location since our doors opened there in September 2023,” said Douglas McLaughlin Williams, director of retail for Lume Cannabis. “We continue to be overwhelmed by the positive response to our safe, high-quality products as evidenced by long lines and full parking lots on a regular basis at that location. Business was up at our stores over the Memorial Day weekend.”

Because there is such traffic at the Michigan-Wisconsin border, some visitors are passing those destinations right by.

“A lot of people are just skipping Menominee because of all the crazy lines and everything,” said Mills.

Though dispensaries may be amidst a high for the time being, many outsiders believe their success is not sustainable and that market competition will push several out of business.

“Oversaturation of cannabis supply continues to be a major issue in nearly every state,” read the 2025 Vangst U.S. Cannabis Jobs Report. As suppliers’ prices are forced to drop to remain competitive, their profits decrease.

Though sales have increased year over year, the number of jobs in the cannabis industry nationwide have plateaued. Legal cannabis professions more than tripled between 2017 and 2022 — rising from 122,800 to 428,059 — and now, in 2025, there are fewer jobs than there were three years ago, reported Whitney Economics. There were 425,002 individuals legally employed in the industry at the start of this year — about 1% fewer than in 2022.

Only 27% of cannabis operators were profitable in 2024, compared to 42% in 2022, Whitney showed.

Mills noted that the Wacky Jackz near Highway 13 had been “barely hanging on” in the offseason, “and now (in June) they’re thriving.”

Whether the traffic currently enjoyed by area establishments will be enough to keep them afloat as time goes on is yet to be seen.