Michigan municipalities getting nearly $100 million from marijuana tax

• Nearly $100 million will be distributed to 302 Michigan municipalities from the state’s marijuana tax revenue
• Each municipality will receive roughly $58,000 for each licensed retail store 
• The money includes a first-time distribution to four federally recognized tribes

Michigan will distribute nearly $100 million in marijuana tax revenue to 302 local municipalities including cities, villages, townships, counties, and tribes.  That’s out of a total of more than $331 million received in the 2024 fiscal year from the state’s Marijuana Regulation Fund.

The tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales is split between schools, roads and local governments. For fiscal 2024, more than $116 million was sent to the School Aid Fund for K-12 education, and an additional $116 million was deposited into the Michigan Transportation Fund. 

Each municipality will receive more than $58,000 for each licensed retail store and microbusiness within its jurisdiction to be used for schools, roads and local projects. 

“Starting this week, my team will begin to distribute adult-use marijuana payments to Michigan’s local units of government and tribal partners,” said Rachel Eubanks, state treasurer in a statement Friday. “Local entities and tribes can spend these dollars however they deem fit for their needs.” 

Related:

• Michigan local governments getting $87 million from marijuana sales
• Whitmer roads tax plan may drive marijuana shops out of business, experts say

For the first time, the state is distributing more than $931,000 in marijana tax revenue to four federally recognized tribes in Michigan, part of a change in state law.  

Police cars and fuel

The city of Benton Harbor will receive nearly $233,000 from the state, which  City Manager Alex Little said will go toward public safety and police protection. 

“It’s everything from police cars to the gas, payroll,” he said. 

Little said he wished the city received more assistance from the state for parks and recreational activities. 

“I do have to realize that every little bit helps and certainly the governor knows what she’s doing,” he said. 

Friday’s tax distribution announcement came less than two weeks a week after Gov. Whitmer announced her latest proposal to fix the roads, which includes a 32% wholesale tax on marijuana. That would be on top of the current 10% excise tax and 6% sales tax paid by consumers. 

“It’s great that cannabis can give back to the schools, that’s why that 10% sales tax was put into place,” said Jerry Millen, owner of Greenhouse dispensary in Walled Lake. 

 “I don’t think we need to increase the tax on it,” he said. “It’s going to decrease sales which means it’s be less taxes.”

The state has 850 retailers, nearly double the 432 in 2021. As supply has expanded, prices have plummeted: An ounce of marijuana sold for an average of $74 in 2024, down from $204 in 2021.