Pot shops rake in $221,000 on first day of Michigan's legal sales

Beth LeBlanc | The Detroit News

Michigan pot shops generated $221,000 in sales Sunday during the state's first day of legal recreational marijuana purchases — generated by three licensed facilities in Ann Arbor.

The total on the first day of legal adult use sales in Michigan doesn’t include the $22,100 paid to the state because of the 10% excise tax on adult use products or the $14,586 generated by the 6% sales tax, according to the Marijuana Regulatory Agency.

The sales from Michigan’s first licensed adult use retailers came roughly 13 months after voters approved a ballot measure legalizing adult use.

Lines of people from Michigan and other areas of the Midwest formed outside of the Ann Arbor retail shops Sunday to kick off sales that the state projects will total hundreds of millions of dollars in the first year.

Total medical marijuana sales from Oct. 1, 2018 through Nov. 22, 2019 were $269.5 million.

The state had a year after the adult use law took effect on Dec. 6, 2018 to set up the commercial adult use licensing system and did so weeks ahead of time. The Marijuana Regulatory Agency awarded the first adult use license to Exclusive Brands LLC’s Ann Arbor Shop on Nov. 19.

The first licensed adult use retailers are allowed to transfer up to 50% of their existing medical marijuana to their adult use inventory to prevent the months-long delay expected if the retailers had to grow adult use product from scratch.

As of Wednesday, the state had issued 18 adult use marijuana licenses, including six retail licenses, three processor licenses, six Class C growing licenses and one license each for an event organizer, safety compliance, and secure transporter.

Six retailers in Ann Arbor, Evart and Morenci said they were beginning recreational sales this week. More than 1,400 municipalities, however, have banned marijuana businesses from opening shop in their communities.

Staff writer Breana Noble contributed

eleblanc@detroitnews.com