Michigan officials on Thursday announced that they will be distributing nearly $150 million in marijuana tax revenue, divided between localities, public schools and a transportation fund. And separately, regulators have approved the state\u2019s first licensed\u00a0 cannabis consumption lounge, which is set to open this month.<\/p>\n
The state Treasury Department said that the new funding, made possible from tax revenue generated from the state\u2019s adult-use cannabis program, includes $42.2 million for 62 cities, 15 villages, 33 townships and 53 counties.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s more than four times the level of funding<\/a> that the state paid out to municipalities with cannabis tax dollars last year.<\/p>\n Adult-use marijuana payments of more than $42.2 million will be distributed among 163 MI municipalities and counties as a part of the Michigan Regulation & Taxation of Marijuana Act: https:\/\/t.co\/hlw8YHXfsG<\/a>. @SBAM<\/a> @MItownships<\/a> @SmallBusinesses<\/a> #Marijuana<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/StllSLUM3M<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Michigan Department of Treasury (@MiTreasury) March 24, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Each eligible jurisdiction will therefore receive more than $56,400 \u201cfor every licensed retail store and microbusiness located within its jurisdiction,\u201d the department said in a press release. There are currently 374 cannabis licensees in the state.<\/p>\n Last year, the eligible jurisdictions received about $28,000 per licensed retailer and microbusiness operating in their area.<\/p>\n More than $42.2 million will be distributed among 163 municipalities and counties as a part of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. Next week, 62 cities, 15 villages, 33 townships and 53 counties will be receiving payments from the Marihuana Regulation Fund. https:\/\/t.co\/3YKhM7EARj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Andrew Brisbo (@AndrewBrisbo) March 24, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cThe Michigan Department of Treasury will distribute these dollars as soon as practical to eligible local units of government,\u201d State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks said<\/a>. \u201cThe doubling of this year\u2019s payment amounts will have a larger impact on local government budgets.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, another $49.3 million will go to the School Aid Fund for K-12 education and $49.3 million will support the Michigan Transportation Fund.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s rewarding to see that the agency\u2019s balanced regulatory approach is effectively protecting consumers while still allowing Michigan businesses to grow and thrive,\u201d Andrew Brisbo, executive director of the Marijuana Regulatory Agency, said. \u201cThe funding provided directly to local governments\u2014and the thousands of jobs created across the state\u2014show that Michigan is leading the way in the cannabis industry.\u201d<\/p>\n All told in 2021, Michigan saw $1,311,951,737 in marijuana sales for adult-use and $481,225,540 for medical cannabis. In December alone, there were more than $135 million in recreational cannabis purchases<\/a> and about $33 million in medical marijuana sales.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, regulators have approved the state\u2019s first-ever social consumption site for adult-use marijuana in Hazel Park. It stands to reason that, as that sector of the marijuana industry grows, even more tax revenue may follow.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to see this part of the cannabis industry taking off after nearly two years of delay due to the pandemic,\u201d Brisbo told Marijuana Moment. \u201cAs we continue to lead the nation in innovation, we\u2019re committed to staying in touch with licensees and stakeholders to make sure we are stimulating business growth while preserving safe consumer access to cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n Nowfal Akash, chief information officer of Trucenta, which will operate the newly approved Hot Box Social, said in a press release that the business\u2019s \u201cplan is to first use the space for corporate, social, and special events.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCome summer, we\u2019ll start scheduling events so the public can experience Hot Box Social with consumption-friendly activities like social gatherings, educational opportunities, and arts-focused activities,\u201d Akash said. \u201cOur hope is that Hot Box Social will be used to bring a new experience for companies hosting brainstorming meetings, friends who are gathering for private parties, and one-of-a-kind fundraisers to raise money for nonprofit organization.\u201d<\/p>\n Michigan isn\u2019t the only state that\u2019s collecting significant tax revenue from legal marijuana sales and working to put those dollars to good use.<\/p>\n Massachusetts is collecting more tax revenue from marijuana than alcohol<\/a>, state data released in January shows. As of December 2021, the state took in $51.3 million from alcohol taxes and $74.2 million from cannabis at the halfway point of the fiscal year.<\/p>\n Illinois also saw\u00a0cannabis taxes beat out booze for the first time<\/a>\u00a0last year, with the state collecting about $100 million more from adult-use marijuana than alcohol during 2021.<\/p>\n That state is dedicating portions of tax revenue to mental health services, as well as local organizations \u201cdeveloping programs that benefit disadvantaged communities.\u201d In July, state officials put $3.5 million in cannabis-generated funds toward efforts to reduce violence<\/a>\u00a0through street intervention programs.<\/p>\n States that have legalized marijuana have collectively\u00a0garnered more than $10 billion in cannabis tax revenue<\/a> since the first licensed sales started in 2014, according to a report released by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) in January.<\/p>\n California officials announced in June that they were\u00a0awarding about $29 million in grants<\/a>\u00a0funded by marijuana tax revenue to 58 nonprofit organizations, with the intent of righting the wrongs of the war on drugs. The state collected about\u00a0$817 million in adult-use marijuana tax revenue<\/a>\u00a0during the 2020-2021 fiscal year, state officials estimated last summer. That\u2019s 55 percent more cannabis earnings for state coffers than was generated in the prior fiscal year.<\/p>\n Nearly $500 million of cannabis tax revenue in Colorado has supported the state\u2019s public school system. That state brought in\u00a0a record $423 million in marijuana tax dollars<\/a>\u00a0last year.<\/p>\n Back in Michigan, another Michigan city this week moved to decriminalize psychedelics<\/a> like psilocybin and ibogaine as activists continue to pursue a broader statewide policy change to legalize the entheogenic substances through the ballot. Detroit and Ann Arbor have also enacted psychedelics decriminalization, while Grand Rapids lawmakers have expressed legislative support for the reform.<\/p>\n The latest city to enact the policy change is Hazel Park, coincidentally the same city that will be host to the state\u2019s first marijuana consumption lounge.<\/p>\n Top Congressman And Pro-Legalization BOWL PAC Send Joint Fundraising Email Ahead Of House Marijuana Vote<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Michigan Sends $150 Million In Marijuana Tax Dollars To Cities, Schools And Transportation Fund As Officials Approve First Social Consumption Site<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Michigan officials on Thursday announced that they will be distributing nearly $150 million in marijuana tax revenue, divided between localities, public schools and a transportation fund. And separately, regulators have approved the state\u2019s first licensed\u00a0 cannabis consumption lounge, which is set to open this month. The state Treasury Department saidContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53821"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53821"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53822,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53821\/revisions\/53822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Michigan Sends 0 Million In Marijuana Tax Dollars To Cities, Schools And Transportation Fund As Officials Approve First Social Consumption Site<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"