Tuesday, Michigan marks one year of legal retail sales of recreational marijuana.
Approved by voters in 2018, retail sales had to wait until state officials built a regulatory system to manage the fledgling industry.
Since retail sales began Dec. 1, 2019, weekly sales numbers for adult use products have climbed steadily. In the past 12 months, retailers have sold roughly $450 million-worth of recreational pot products in the state, averaging about $13 million a week in recent months.
“I would say we’re not even close to market saturation yet,” says Robin Schneider, executive director of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of marijuana retailers, growers and other related businesses continues to increase in Michigan.
Andrew Brisbo is the director of the Marijuana Regulatory Agency. He wants to see more progress in social equity and opportunity programs in the coming years.
“I still think there’s more to learn and more development to be done in the pursuit of insuring that access to consumers is as safe as possible and businesses have the opportunity to grow and succeed,” says Brisbo.