Michigan marijuana stores aren’t happy with a newly passed bill banning advertising in Indiana but it could be awhile before it’s very noticeable.
The lack of any real debate on cannabis again this session was just fine with George Lynch, owner of Green Stem, a marijuana store across the state line in Niles.
“We’ve been the recipient of good fortune that Indiana continues to deny cannabis as a medical or recreational vehicle, there’s no doubt about it,” Lynch says.
In fact, Indiana lawmakers went the other direction. By the time the session ended Thursday, language banning marijuana advertising, which had failed in several other bills, had been quietly tucked into an unrelated bill on Bureau of Motor Vehicles issues that passed and is now headed to Gov. Mike Braun for his signature.
The advertising ban was championed by Republican Representatives Jim Pressel of Rolling Prairie and Timothy Wessco of Osceola.
But the ban exempts advertising contracts that are already in place. Green Stem has three billboards in Indiana: Two on State Road 933 and one on Cleveland Road. Lynch says he signed 10-year contracts for the billboards about a month ago.
“My three billboards in Indiana have been grandfathered for 10 years so I’m not taking them down,” he says.
But Lynch says he will have to cancel an Indiana direct mail piece promoting a Memorial Day sale coming up. He had planned to mail the flyer to people living in South Bend, Mishawaka and Granger, where the store gets most of its Indiana customers.
Green Stem Provisioning owner George Lynch is happy Indiana will go at least another year without legal marijuana, and says he’ll get to keep his billboards up for Hoosiers to see for another decade. Read More
