The difference? That billboard is located in Michigan. It advertises “High Profile Cannabis Shop,” a dispensary located in Buchanan, and proudly proclaims that it is “Open for rec!” Well, order what? The billboard doesn’t actually say you can buy marijuana there - it’s all just implied.Ĭompare that to a different billboard on the same highway about 4 miles north. It also includes a URL, telling drivers they can order online. It tells drivers to “make the obvious choice at Green Stem Provisioning,” which is a 21+ business located 7 miles ahead open 7 days a week. “The content here is really gonna matter.”Ī good example of that distinction is just outside of South Bend.Ĭurrently, drivers heading north on State Route 933 near the Indiana Toll Road will pass a massive billboard advertising a cannabis dispensary about 15 minutes away in Niles. “Does that advertise that you could buy marijuana in Michigan? Sure, but not directly,” Orenstein said. For example, it’s perfectly legal to put up a billboard saying ‘Hey, Michigan legalized marijuana, and Indiana should too.’ How - or even if - that happens remains to be seen.īut another major factor is what’s actually in the advertisements. “And they won’t stop until they're told that they can’t.” “My guess is that no one said, ‘No you can’t do it,’ and so folks have done it,” he said. So, Orenstein said billboard advertising by dispensaries may be an ‘ask forgiveness, not permission’ type of situation. Instead, the agency refers any complaints about advertising content to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. In an email, INDOT spokesperson Mallory Duncan said the agency only looks at content to determine if a sign is advertising something located on the property - like a restaurant or hotel - or something off of the property, like a billboard. The Indiana Department of Transportation has pages of regulations governing the size, types, location and placement of outdoor advertising.īut the agency does not regulate advertising content. “Businesses take risks all the time,” Orenstein said. That means advertising is currently one giant gray area, like almost everything else in the legal marijuana industry.Īnd Orenstein said that means dispensaries advertising in Indiana are taking a risk - local governments, the state or the federal government could theoretically block it. “Here, we’ve got far more questions than answers.” “That is really strange, and it makes it hard to interpret the precedent that we have for advertising rules,” he said. But federally, it remains in the most restrictive Schedule 1 category - same as heroin or LSD. Thirty-seven states have legalized medical marijuana, and 18 have legalized it recreationally. “But we’ve never done that for something that’s federally illegal, like cannabis is.” “The courts have generally said ‘Well, if it’s legal where the action will occur, that’s OK - even if you hear this radio ad across the border.’” Orenstein said. There are regulations limiting what and how something can be advertised - think tobacco companies or alcohol - but billboards are generally less restricted, and there’s a lot of legal precedent surrounding advertising across state lines. He said there’s a lot of history in America of businesses setting up just across the border when something is illegal in one place but legal in another - think casinos in Nevada or liquor stores just outside of dry counties.Īnd he said advertising is protected by the First Amendment. One of his research areas is marijuana law and policy. But marijuana is still not legal in Indiana - so how are all these dispensaries able to advertise here?ĭaniel Orenstein is a visiting assistant professor of law at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. Some of those dollars are definitely coming from Hoosiers. The numbers are similar for Illinois - in 2021, the industry there sold $1.38 billion worth of marijuana, with an average of $4.4 million per day in December. According to a March 2020 Michigan State University study, the industry has the potential to reach $3 billion in sales in the next few years - bringing a total economic impact of $7.8 billion. They beckon Hoosiers across those state borders into the land of legalized marijuana - and some are undoubtedly making the trip.įor example, the Michigan towns of Niles and Buchanan - just across the border from South Bend - have eight dispensaries between them, selling to both medical and recreational customers.Īnd in 2021, the Michigan marijuana industry made $1.79 billion in sales. If you’ve taken a road trip in the past few years, you’ve definitely spotted the billboards dotting Indiana’s interstates and highways advertising cannabis dispensaries in Michigan and Illinois. A billboard advertising Green Stem Provisioning, a dispensary located in Niles, Michigan.
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