The Michigan Department of Treasury announced that more than $87 million generated from cannabis tax revenues is set to be distributed to 269 municipalities in the state as part of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act.
The $87 million is set to be distributed among 99 cities, 30 villages, 69 townships, and 71 counties from Michigan’s Marihuana Regulation Fund. Each community is set to receive over $59,000 per licensed retail store or microbusiness located within its jurisdiction. The city of Detroit is set to receive the largest amount at over $1.9 million and Ann Arbor is second with $1.5 million. Wayne, Washtenaw, Kent, Oakland and Bay counties received the most revenue at the county level. Municipalities are able to use funds as they see fit. The $87 million is an increase from the $59.5 million distributed in 2022.
“This week, many Michigan municipalities and counties will begin seeing their share of adult-use marijuana payments appear in their banking accounts,” said State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks. “Through a partnership, the dollars received from the adult-use marijuana taxes and fees are distributed to our participating communities. These dollars may be spent how our local units deem fit to their needs.”
Revenue was collected from the state’s 737 cannabis licensees during the 2023 fiscal year and put into the Marihuana Regulation Fund. For the 2023 fiscal year, over $290.3 million was available for distribution. The remaining funds were split between the state’s school aid fund for K-12 education and the Michigan Transportation Fund, with $101.6 million going to each.
“The tax funding for municipalities and counties that comes from the marijuana excise tax is a very important benefit of the legal cannabis industry in Michigan,” said Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) Executive Director Brian Hanna. “The CRA is committed to doing our part in supporting our licensees so that they can continue to grow the local economy throughout the state with good-paying jobs and increased revenues for local government budgets.”
The city of Hazel Park has 10 licensed retail locations within city limits and will use the more than $590,000 to help cover a $1 million increase to the cost of their employee pension program. Hazel Park City Manager Edward Klobucher said the money from cannabis will allow them to cover the increase without having to raise taxes or cut services.
“It’s been very beneficial to the city of Hazel Park and its taxpayers to receive these additional monies from adult-use marijuana,” said Klobucher. “And those revenues we get from marijuana help us to meet that obligation. It does benefit the city because that means, because of these additional revenues, these are services that we don’t have to cut or fees that we don’t have to increase or taxes that we don’t have to increase to get that bill paid.”
Data from the CRA showed the state sold more than $3 billion in cannabis products during 2023, a 30 percent increase from the $2.3 billion in cannabis sales in 2022. The amount equates to about $305 worth of cannabis per person in the state. Licensed cannabis businesses saw $279.9 million in total sales in December 2023 setting a new state record for monthly sales, beating the previous mark of $276.7 set in July 2023. The number of licensed retailers increased statewide by 120 over 2023 bringing the state total to 750 as of December 2023.
“As we head into 2024, the Cannabis Regulatory Agency continues to focus on transparency and communication, working with stakeholders as the industry continues to grow,” said Hanna. “We’re committed to supporting Michigan’s cannabis licensees who currently employ over 35,000 employees, a 23% increase from December 2022.”
