Recreational weed pays dividends for Greater Lansing

Report: Local governments collect about $600K in pot taxes

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THURSDAY, March 4 — Nearly $10 million in taxes from last year’s recreational marijuana sales are heading back to more than 100 municipalities across Michigan this week — including about $600,000 for three local units of governments in Greater Lansing.

This week, revenue sharing payments on more than $340 million in statewide retail recreational cannabis sales tracked in 2020 were sent out to cities, counties and townships. And that included $280,000 for Lansing, $308,000 for Ingham County and $28,000 for East Lansing.

The cash was also distributed to 94 other local governments from a combined pot of $45.7 million in excise taxes and licensing fees collected by the state last year, equating to about $28,000 in municipal income for every licensed retail store or microbusiness across Michigan.

In a statement, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said that “safe, professional” pot shops in Lansing have helped invigorate the economy, as well as return vacant buildings and storefronts to the tax rolls — plugging a $300,000 budget hole created, in part, by the COVID-19 pandemic.

City Clerk Chris Swope estimates licensed pot shops in Lansing have also invested more than $85 million in property improvements and employed more than 2,400 people to date — all with jobs that pay at least $16 an hour and include healthcare benefits and retirement savings.

Officials project next year’s payment will increase as companies continue to build additional facilities over the next several months. Andrew Brisbo, the executive director of the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency, projected the market could cap $3 billion in the next few years.

Aside from the nearly $10 million in disbursements to local governments, about $11.6 million went to the School Aid Fund for K-12 education and another $11.6 million went to the Michigan Transportation Fund. The remaining $12.5 million is set to cover state administrative costs.

Visit Michigan.gov/revenuesharing for more information about adult-use marijuana tax distributions — including a breakdown of how much municipalities and counties received

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