State Records $6.5 M in December Recreational Marijuana Sales

The first month of legal recreational marijuana business in Michigan produced around $6.5 million in retail sales.

The Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency has now issued 54 recreational licenses, with about half of those for retail outlets. Only one retail license has been issued for the Upper Peninsula – the Fire Station in Negaunee.

Between the regular sales tax and the 10 percent excise tax, the state will collect a little more than $1 million from the first month of sales. The Agency reports that it has also brought in around $2.5 million in licensing fees and application fees.

None of that money will trickle down to local governments. By law, the first $20 million the state earns in each of the first two years of legal recreational sales must go toward marijuana research.