Chicagoans still find bargain weed in New Buffalo
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Inexpensive weed products still abound across the Michigan border despite worries of higher prices after a new 24% wholesale tax kicked in.
Why it matters: Michigan retailers warned last year that the tax could force them to raise prices and lose their edge over nearby states.
- But two and a half months into the tax, Michigan weed remains a bargain, with some products costing half the price of their Chicago counterparts.
State of play: Once a quiet vacation hamlet 70 miles from downtown, New Buffalo, Michigan (aka Weed City USA), now attracts thousands of Illinois and Indiana residents, who regularly make day trips to its 29 dispensaries.
By the numbers: Axios recently compared prices on similar items at Vibe in New Buffalo and North Side dispensaries.
Here's what we found:
- 3.5 grams of Cresco LA Kush Cake Flower costs $14.25 at Vibe in New Buffalo but $28.80 at Sunnyside in Wrigleyville.
- A box of WYLD sour tangerine hybrid gummies delivering 200 mg of cannabinoids costs $15 at Vibe in New Buffalo, but a box of the same gummies with just 100mg of cannabinoids costs $20 at Bud & Rita's in Chicago.
- Beyond product prices, weed buyers pay only 10% excise tax and 6% sales tax in Michigan but 20% excise tax and 16% recreational base tax in Illinois.
- These price differences reflect what Axios found when we compared costs in November 2024.
Between the lines: The lure of cheap pot just 70 miles from downtown could hurt Illinois social services.
- State data show that monthly cannabis sales dropped in Illinois from $153 million in December 2024 to $116 million in December 2025, reducing tax revenue for health, safety and agricultural programs.
Driving the news: New Buffalo is starting to weed out bad actors from its huge crop of dispensaries, according to Crain's.
- Last month, the township board notified six dispensaries that they could lose their permits for violating state regulations on sales.
- One complaint alleges that a dispensary sold 319 vape cartridges and more than 47 ounces of weed to a single customer from Indiana. Michigan law limits sales to 2.5 ounces per day.
What's next: The New Buffalo board has scheduled a March 24 hearing on the violations and their effects on dispensary permits.