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By Kyle Jaeger
Michigan marijuana sales reached yet another record high in July, with nearly $277 million worth of cannabis sold.
Adult-use marijuana purchases accounted for the majority of the total, at $270,603,217. Medical marijuana sales were at $6,143,046. This beats the prior record set in June by more than $16 million.
Most of the cannabis purchases came from flower, followed by vape cartridges and infused edibles, the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) data, first reported by New Cannabis Ventures, shows.
The state is seeing these consistent record-setting sales even as the average cost of marijuana has remained at record lows, with the price of an ounce for adult-use cannabis now hovering around $98. In December 2021, by contrast, the cost of an ounce was about $180. The average ounce for medical marijuana last month sold for $102.
While the state’s cannabis market has continued to mature, businesses still face challenges under federal prohibition, including a lack of access to traditional financial services that has created a cash-intensive industry that is uniquely targeted by crime.
Meanwhile, former Michigan House Speaker Rick Johnson (R), who went on to chair the state’s Marijuana Licensing Board, caught headlines in April after a federal prosecutor charged him for allegedly taking bribes in exchange for providing privileged information and assistance to select license applicants. He and other defendants reached plea agreements in the case.
Michigan regulators announced last year that they were issuing another round of grants to support research into the therapeutic benefits of marijuana for military veterans, using tax dollars the state generated from adult-use cannabis sales.
This time around, CRA recommended awarding $20 million in grants to two universities as part of the Veteran Marijuana Research (VMR) Grant Program.
Officials also announced last year that the state would be distributing nearly $150 million in marijuana tax revenue, divided between localities, public schools and a transportation fund.
Meanwhile, state officials recently approved changes to the state’s employment policy, making it so applicants for most government jobs will no longer be subject to pre-employment drug testing for marijuana.
Michigan isn’t the only state setting cannabis sales records.
Four Northeastern states—Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island—also each hit new records for cannabis purchases in July.
Illinois retailers sold $140 million worth of recreational marijuana products in July—the strongest sales of the year and second highest monthly total for the state since the adult-use market launched in 2020.
Maryland legal cannabis sales also hit a high of $87.4 million in July, the first month since the recreational market launched, state data shows. In the first weekend of adult-use sales alone, the state yielded over $10 million in combined medical and recreational purchases.
Missouri retailers have been selling about $4 million worth of marijuana per day on average since the state’s adult-use market opened up in February—and the state saw a record $121.2 million in cannabis purchases in June.
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