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It’s harvest season and that includes one of Michigan’s newest crops, marijuana.
Michigan’s recreational marijuana industry is less than two years old, but already surpasses many other states. This includes producers. Since marijuana is still not federally legal, cultivating it in a state and crossing state borders to sell it is illegal.
“The stigma is gone now,” said Tom Buggia, owner and farmer of 420 Medz near Coleman.
Buggia has spent the past six years building and cultivating marijuana farms in Washington state, but red tape and weather issues in the west have brought him back to his home state.
That’s where he is now, cultivating one of the last remaining outdoor marijuana farms in Michigan.
“Indoor makes a premium product, it’s a very expensive product, “said Buggia,” With a big barrier to entry to get in because it takes $ 10-15 million to actually build a facility.
Marijuana grown indoors can sell for three times as much, but can cost 20 times as much to grow. Growing up as a gardener, he looked around and realized that plants can grow very well outdoors.
“Tomatoes and peppers? I really didn’t see any of these guys doing warehouses in Seattle with lights, ”Buggia said.
One of the biggest issues when trying to decide where to plant your roots for your marijuana farm is not soil makeup or climate, but where it’s going to be accepted. Many townships and communities have pulled out of the industry, so producers need to find one like Wise Township. The township benefits greatly, they made pay $ 225,000 to four producers in the township.
“Last week we had a group of about 40 and 50 other townships that Wise Township asked to come and tour and I organized the tour,” Buggia said. the smell and it’s not that bad.
With a history in commercial construction, tall fencing, irrigation installation and security systems were the easy part for Buggia. The success of his 12-acre, 9,000-plant operation was based on Michigan weather and so far, in his first summer, it has been a success.
A success that could lead to even more growth in the future.
“There are still 40 acres behind us that are part of this property that we can expand,” said Buggia, “We’ll just see how it goes. I’m not planning anything this far. Two weeks is a long time for me.
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