Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency awarded NCS Analytics, the leading cannabis data analytics solutions provider, a grant to perform a comprehensive analysis of tax reporting, collection, and regulatory compliance within the Michigan cannabis market. The research pilot program will use NCS Analytics' ability to analyze individual transactions across the regulated cannabis supply chain in concert with cannabis consumer data collected through the nation's largest empirical cannabis outcomes surveillance tool, the Regulatory Determinants of Cannabis Outcomes Survey (RDCOS). The RDCOS uses a validated recruitment methodology to collect a geographically and demographically representative sample of Michigan's cannabis consumer population to measure and predict the size of the cannabis market.
The research pilot program aims to:
- Identify the size of each cannabis market within Michigan, including the adult-use, medical and illicit markets;
- Understand the factors driving consumption in each cannabis market segment and what motivates consumers to transition to the emerging regulated market;
- Assess the total cannabis tax revenue collected and the amount of revenue the State loses due to illicit sales;
- Identify common areas within the regulated cannabis market where illicit inversion and diversion activities may be occurring; and
- Predict relevant market trends and transitions over the next five years.
Under this grant, NCS Analytics will collaborate with experts from Cannabis Public Policy Consulting, the nation's leading cannabis policy research firm, along with Dr. Heather Carrasco, Assistant Professor for the School of Accounting in the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University, a recognized accounting expert with experience in supply-chains for burgeoning industries and rigorous regulatory oversight. With their collective expertise, the team will leverage sophisticated advanced statistical modeling techniques to gain unique insights into the Michigan cannabis industry and consumer behavior.
The project team will analyze individual transactions across the cannabis supply chain utilizing the NCS Platform, a patent-pending analytical processing program currently used by government agencies to monitor nearly 20,000 cannabis licenses across the United States. This comprehensive analysis will identify areas where the State is losing tax revenue, the prevalence of illicit products, and common places for inversion and diversion within the regulated market.
The culmination of this effort will provide the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency with a comprehensive, actionable plan to improve tax collection, reporting and regulatory compliance based on the analysis findings.
