Michigan’s legal marijuana industry hits record sales, buoyed by new products | Marijuana News | Detroit

Bully Kush, resin-coated moon rocks, lemon-ginger gums, cannabis-infused peanut butter and wedding cake distillate.

This is not your grandfather’s grass.

As Michigan’s legal marijuana industry continues to flourish, pharmacies offer an eclectic selection of products, from carefully grown flowers to delicious foods and strong tinctures.

According to Headset, a company that analyzes cannabis consumer trends, recreational and medical marijuana sales hit a record $ 115.4 million in March, a more than two-fold increase compared to March 2020. There were 1.4 million transactions in March.

In 2020, the first full year of legal recreational sales, pharmacies made purchases of more than $ 500 million.

“Michigan’s cannabis market is still growing,” said Cooper Ashley, data analyst at Headset Metro Times. “It flattened a bit at the end of 2020, but seems to be improving again.”

Although the state allowed pharmacies to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic, legal cannabis use declined late last year. In early 2021, however, sales not only recovered, they also rose to record levels.

This growth is expected to continue into April when people celebrate April 20th, the national day for cannabis culture. In the week of April 20 last year, Michigan drug and recreational sales rose 48% over the past four weeks, despite the pandemic, according to Headset.

“I would say we should expect at least as big a response this year, but I know the weather in Michigan can be quite different at this time of year, so this is likely to be quite an influential factor in the April 20th celebrations it’s going to be shopping, “says Ashley.

As the legal industry grows, Michigan-based companies are creating new products that transform cannabis use.

Michigan leads the nation with the highest market share in food. In March, food accounted for 14.4% of total recreational and medicinal cannabis sales.

One of the market leaders is UBaked, a Burton-based company that grows quality flowers and makes concentrates, sublingual sprays, and delicious foods. The cannabis infused candy bar line includes peanut butter, chocolate mint, cookies and cream, strawberry crunch, orange cremesicle, root beer float, dark chocolate cherry (with Michigan cherries!), And a suberbaked bar that tastes like Michigan’s famous Superman -Ice.

Their new rubber line, premiering this week, includes pink lemonade, blue raspberry, cherry lime, tropical fruit, orange, cherry lime, and lemon ginger.

“We like diversity to keep it interesting,” says Amy Beauchamp, co-owner of UBaked Metro Times.

UBaked’s resource and development team consists of a food scientist and a technician who work on candies, chewing gum, suppositories, beverages and skin care products. They are also working on microemulsions to make their products work faster.

The flower products from UBaked with crystal-coated varieties such as Sluricane, Cherry Goji, Apple Fritters, Skunk Piss, Ice Cream Cake, Gelato 33, Oreoz and Apple Pie are also popular. Another best-selling product is living resin, a concentrate for swabs and vapors.

“Our flowers and concentrates always do well,” says Beauchamp.

Michigan is expected to enter the beverage market soon. In January, the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency announced a new process that companies can use to manufacture and sell THC-infused drinks.

Michigan now has 410 medical cannabis dispensaries and 260 recreational marijuana stores. Growth continued in 2021 when Michigan licensed 46 new medical cannabis dispensaries and 45 new recreational marijuana stores.

While the growth of the cannabis industry has been strong, its full potential has been curbed by communities banning the sale of recreational marijuana. Fewer than 100 of the state’s 1,764 municipalities allow recreational marijuana sales.

Recreational pharmacies and cannabis use lounges are expected to open in Detroit, the state’s largest city, in a few months. The city banned new recreational marijuana stores until it could develop an ordinance to ensure long-time residents weren’t crowded out by outside profiteers. A federal judge, however Last week ordered the city to temporarily stop processing licenses for recreational marijuana companies while considering a lawsuit against the city’s “Legacy” ordinance, which gives priority to longtime residents.

For communities that have turned to recreational marijuana pharmacies, the rising sales are welcome news. In March, the state donated nearly $ 10 million to municipalities and counties in excise taxes generated from recreational sales in fiscal 2020. Communities receive approximately $ 28,000 for each pharmacy.

“Bringing more than $ 28,000 per retailer and micro-business to municipal budgets across the state is very powerful and shows how strong and prosperous the industry is,” said Andrew Brisbo, executive director of the state marijuana regulatory agency, in a Explanation.

The excise tax also raised around $ 11.6 million for schools and $ 11.6 million for roads.

Oz Cannabis is one of the fastest growing pharmacies with cannabis stores in Detroit, Ypsilanti, Bay City and Traverse City. New pharmacies are expected to open in Owosso, Pontiac and Meridian Township over the next few months.

Jamie Garmo, member of the executive team at Oz Cannabis, said product diversity is an integral part of the business. The pharmacies sell flowers, groceries, topical products, tinctures, concentrates, and vapes.

“These products are very nifty now,” says Garmo Metro Times. “People don’t aim high, they aim high. They want to enjoy what they’re doing. That’s part of the experience.”

It’s not just products that have become more sophisticated, but also the processes from which they are made. A new cannabis dispensary and growing operation that claims to be Detroit’s largest will be officially opened on April 20th.

Leaf and Bud is on Livernois Avenue, just around the corner from the Value Save grocery store, not far from Avenue of Fashion and the University of Detroit Mercy. Despite its modest location, the interior houses a pharmacy with an elegant, modern feel. The long showroom is flanked by two curved countertops with neon accents. On a recent visit, workers were in the process of supplying the counters with a variety of products, including those from Future Grow Solutions, which share a room in the 140,000. Square meter building.

Leaf and Bud and Future Grow Solutions are separated by a security gate. But there is a similar futuristic feel to the growth operation.

The space is home to rows of Future Grow Solutions “CropTowers,” 11 foot tall towers that, according to the company’s master grower, Billy Zangoulos, use a “hyperponic” system to grow cannabis plants that shorten the vegetation cycle by weeks. Each tower contains 102 plants that float in the air and are surrounded by lights.

“We can take a clone from a mother, we can develop roots on that plant, and then we can bring that plant into flower in a smaller size,” says Zangoulos. “We surround the entire tower with LED light. With the modern lighting, we have saved money on electricity consumption and skipped a two to three-month life cycle that would be necessary in such a period.” traditional growth. ”

According to Zangoulos, it is the largest 360-degree vertical extension in the state.

“It’s all computer controlled,” he says. “It’s all water-fed, no dirt, no mess. It’s a very clean approach.”

Zangoulos says he started growing cannabis in 2008 when Michigan voters approved medical marijuana.

“I got involved because I had medical problems,” he says. “I have Crohn’s disease. So I was one of the first thousand patients in Michigan to get a card. And from that day on, my life has changed.”

Zangoulos says he’s amazed at how far the industry has come since then. When he saw the sophisticated growth process at Future Grow Solutions, “I couldn’t say yes,” he says.

“It’s great,” he says. “Every day you go in and smile and sing to your girls and I’ll say hello and make sure they get fed.”

Lee DeVito contributed to this report.

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