Michigan Cannabis Sales Near $1B in The First Year of Adult-Use Sales

michigan recreational sales

The citizens of Michigan sure got their weed lit last year. They smoked and dosed till they made the sales all lit up—almost 482% increase!

Michigan recreational cannabis market made a whopping sum of $984 million and even more; all in its first year of adult-use sales.

I daresay that the only extra activity Michigans took part in the last 12 months was smoking weed all day. It's not like they had a lot of options to choose from though.

Michigan's Recreational Cannabis Market

In November 2018, Michigan voters approved the legalization of adult-use cannabis, however, its recreational cannabis market launched in December 2019. it totaled more than $500 million a few months later.

According to a report from Detroit Metro Times, the state now has over 260 recreational cannabis stores and more than 410 licensed dispensaries for medical marijuana.

The state's authority recently issued new permits this year to 91 cannabis dispensaries—45 for adult-use marijuana stores and 46 for medical cannabis stores.

Thanks to the robust sales and never waning demand, more entrepreneurs are showing interest in the state's cannabis industry. And there's room for more growth as the hassles encountered while obtaining licenses for these dispensaries are gradually reducing.

It is also worthy to note that less than 100 communities in Michigan prohibit the sales of recreational cannabis. Michigan has 1,764 communities.

Total Cannabis Sales in The First Year

The medical and recreational sales of marijuana in the state went up in 2020. Demand shot through the roof and breeders had to work round the clock to meet up with the demand rate.

The total sales in the first year for both markets were $984.6 million. With the larger part, $510.7 million, generated from recreational use. and medical weed sales accounting for $474 million. ( Data gotten from the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency)

Headset, a cannabis consumer trend analyzing company disclosed that the sales of marijuana for adult use in Michigan increased by over 482% from January to December. In January 2020 the total sales for the adult-use weed was almost at the $10 million mark, and less than 12 months after, the total sales surpassed $57 million with two hundred thousand dollars.

Medical sales were not left behind. At a point during the year, the medical cannabis industry recorded more sales than the recreational market. This flipped during the second half of 2020. By December, the recreational market had reached and risen above the total medical sales by at least $32 million from its previous point at around $9.8 million.

Breakdown of The Total Sales

Recently, a study was published in the journal of drug and alcohol dependence. It revealed that marijuana sales increase by around 13% by the end of each year, and sales decrease at the beginning of the year. Most times it's the lowest point in January due to debts racked up during the just concluded holidays.

Also, folks have an affinity for a dry month, and January is the most preferred month in which many do away with using any substance. Weed, or alcohol.

After the month of abstinence, or as the year becomes more intense, most return to their vices.

The breakdown for the total sales of cannabis in Michigan is as follows;

47% of total adult-use sales is from the good old fashioned flower and its trimmed buds

Vape pens come in second at 20.6%

Edibles took up 14.9%

Michiganians ramped it up and got more weed lit at the end of the year. Cannabis delivery services in the state had a very profitable year in 2020. One of these companies, Lantern, revealed that it had an 89% increase in orders a few days before Christmas. Just when they thought that was all, just three days before New Year's day; there was another 55% increase in orders.

The top ten strains Michigan weed users purchased the most in 2020 are Cloud Cover's White 99 ( this strain turned out to be the bestseller), Tiki Rain, Triple Scoop, Monkey Mints, Tiki Cookies, and four strains from the Pleasantrees breeders.

Some of the products thoroughly enjoyed by cannabis users in Michigan in no particular order include:

Cloud Cover's White 99 flower
Fluresh Critical Hog flower
Pre-packaged Fluresh Critical flower
Kushy Punch's indica gummies

(This data was obtained from the data publisher Cannabis delivery services Lantern)

Marijuana Sales in 2021 Q1

The cannabis market in Michigan has sustained and surpassed its record monthly figures from 2020's Q4. Compared to March 2020, Michigan has a record sales of $115.4 million in March 2021. This is twice the sales realized in March 2020.

The Detroit Metro Times reports that over 1.4 million separate purchases were done throughout the state in March.

The Expectation for The Total Sales in 2021

As the year progresses, the demand is expected to rise in both the recreational and medical marijuana markets. There is not going to be a dip from the look of things. Predictably, recreational marijuana demand is expected to rise above its counterpart, medical marijuana. It is also likely that recreational cannabis purchases surpass the total recorded sales of medical marijuana.

Headset predicts there will be another significant growth in the sales of recreational cannabis in April. This is due to the unofficial cannabis holiday that takes place on the twentieth of April every year(04/20).

By the end of the year, at least a record of $1.3 billion is expected from the total sales of cannabis in the state.

Final Words

Despite being one of the states with the worst rate of cannabis-related incarceration in the Midwest, Michigan has benefited greatly from its cannabis reforms. The economy of the state has increased greatly and the tourism industry seems to be progressing.

As production capacity increases, the Michigan cannabis industry is in for a ride—As sales, this year are expected to exceed that of the last year.

This is praise-worthy as the state's regulated program is relatively newer compared to other states.

Other states are likely inspired to follow suit with the introduction of adult sales cannabis reforms.