How Much Cannabis Does Michigan Have To Consume To Fix The Roads?

When Governor Gretchen Whitmer was elected in the state of Michigan, one of her top priorities was to "Fix the Damn Roads." And by far, it seems like she's made the most progress by any one governor in many, many years. But fixing the roads are expensive, and the money had to come from somewhere.

Enter, the cannabis tax. Not specifically called that, but when Michigan legalized marijuana, it set aside a certain percentage of the money made from cannabis sales to help toward fixing the damn roads. So given now, that there are still HUNDREDS of miles of road in Michigan that still need work, and Michigan is now one of the top consumers of cannabis in the country... exactly how much cannabis do we need to consume to full fund Fixing the Damn Roads?

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For context, when Michigan legalized marijuana, they did so with the intent of the tax dollars raised by its sales to benefit many different programs. Thirty percent of the excise taxes collected end up going back to the counties and municipalities that allow the dispensaries to operate.

That money can be used freely by the communities for whatever projects they designate for it, which can include local road projects.

But on top of that, even more funds are being allocated specifically for the roads and major highways.

Of the $290.3 million brought in simply through cannabis taxes in 2023, $101.6 million were allocated to the School Aid fund, AND.. the Michigan Transportation Fund. So even if that money was split evenly, you're talking about a little more than $50 million just from that allotment that went to fix the damn roads in Michigan. And that's in addition to the money that municipalities and counties decide to spend on local road projects.

But, there's a problem. Fixing the roads are expensive, and while many millions of dollars does sound like a lot, the money only goes so far, and Michigan has a LOT of roadway.

All told, there are 122,040 miles of road in the state of Michigan, and 9,649 of it are state owned. 90,000 are owned by counties.

Now, there isn't a definite finite number for how much it costs per mile to fix the damn roads in Michigan, but even if we total it at an easy number, like $1 million per mile (probably WAY under the actual amount), If we were to repair every single mile of road in the state of Michigan, it would cost us $122 million, flat.

But, if you're good at math, you can see above, that one year's allotment from the cannabis tax isn't enough to really get that done.

THANKFULLY, someone else has done the real math for us, and without getting too deep into it, I'll let our own governor answer the question... HOW MUCH Cannabis would we have to consume to fix all the damn roads?

So... considering it's illegal for children to consume cannabis, sounds like if we wanna fix the damn roads... pot for potholes if you will... then it seems like we need to step up our game a bit. But... as some might assume, we're well on our way, considering how many roads are shut down right now for construction.