Is Michigan's Marijuana Boom Over? Weed Sales Drop for 3rd Straight Month

Michigan’s once-surging cannabis industry is showing its first real chill. After years of explosive growth, the state’s weed sales have dropped for a third straight month, raising the question: Is Michigan’s marijuana boom over, or just hitting a plateau? The answer, it turns out, is complicated. Industry insiders and local experts say the market is maturing – and Metro Detroit families and entrepreneurs alike are feeling the effects. In this article, we dive into the latest sales stats, falling prices, local business struggles, and even how Ohio’s new cannabis market could shake things up for Michigan.

Michigan Weed Market Growth Slows After Record Highs

Not long ago, Michigan was breaking cannabis sales records month after month. In 2023, the state raked in over $3.2 billion in legal marijuana purchases – at times even outselling California, a state with four times Michigan’s population. That torrid growth continued into 2024, which ended with about $3.3 billion in sales (a new high, but only ~7.6% growth vs. the prior year). By late 2024, however, cracks were beginning to show in this green gold rush.

Monthly sales peaked in the fall and then slipped for three consecutive months. In December 2024, Michigan retailers sold about $264.7 million worth of cannabis; by January 2025 sales dropped to $247.3 million, and February fell further to $241.3 million. February marked the third straight monthly decline – an unfamiliar trend for a market used to steady climbs. Industry observers started to ask if Michigan’s weed market had finally hit its peak.

The good news: March 2025 brought a slight rebound. Warmer weather and a longer month helped bump sales up about 14.5% from February, reaching roughly $277 million in March. That’s a healthy jump, though still about 4% lower than March 2024. Through the first quarter of 2025, Michigan’s cannabis revenues are running a few percent behind last year’s pace. In other words, the breakneck growth has stalled. “Flat is the new up” quips one Metro Detroit real estate expert, noting that after an 82% growth year (2021) and 33% growth year (2023), a breather was inevitable.

Local dispensary owners in Metro Detroit describe the shift in practical terms. “It’s not like people stopped smoking,” one Detroit budtender explains, “but everyone’s chasing deals now and buying smaller amounts.” Many customers are delighted to see prices so low (more on that below), but retailers feel the pinch of thinner margins. For cities and towns, a sales plateau could eventually mean smaller tax disbursements – Michigan communities received $87 million in cannabis tax revenue last year to fund local projects. A slowdown might tighten those funds in the future.

So, is the boom over? It appears the Michigan market is hitting maturity, with sales leveling off after an initial boom. But the story doesn’t end with softer sales – plummeting prices and oversupply are the other side of this equation, creating a buyer’s market that’s brutal for businesses.

Record Sales, Rock-Bottom Prices: Oversupply Hits Hard

Michigan’s cannabis prices have collapsed – a blessing for consumers and a bane for growers. In 2020, an ounce of flower sold for over $400; by 2023 it was under $90, and it kept falling. In fact, December 2024 saw flower prices at an all-time low of about $69 per ounce on average. That’s down from ~$97 a year earlier, and a world away from the sky-high prices at the start of legalization. The average wholesale price for adult-use flower in March 2025 was around $1,042 per pound (about $65/oz) – 28% cheaper than a year ago, a new record low.

What’s driving this price plunge? Oversupply. Put simply, Michigan growers produced way more cannabis than the market can absorb. Over the past two years, the state issued hundreds of cultivation licenses and ambitious companies planted huge crops. The result: dispensaries are flooded with product and producers are sitting on mountains of inventory. One stark metric stands out – at the end of 2024 Michigan had nearly 2.8 million pounds of cannabis flower in cold storage (“fresh frozen” inventory), up 228% from a year prior. By early 2025, even with record sales, the backlog hardly shrank. In March, operators managed to sell or process only about 10% of the fresh-frozen stockpile, leaving roughly 1.5 million pounds still warehoused – an astonishing 316% more inventory than a year ago.

This glut of “fresh frozen” flower underscores the imbalance of supply and demand. Growers freeze excess crop for making edibles, oils, and concentrates down the line, but there’s so much piled up that processors can’t use it fast enough. Last year, surplus frozen cannabis was reportedly selling for as little as $0.12–$0.15 per gram in bulk – basically pennies on the dollar. “It’s unbelievable – we’ve got literal tons of Michigan weed just sitting in freezers,” says a cannabis industry consultant in Oakland County. That oversupply is the prime driver of the price crash, creating a buyer’s paradise and a grower’s nightmare.

For consumers, cheap weed has been a windfall. Metro Detroit locals now find $100 ounces and $10 vape carts that would have cost triple a few years ago. “We used to budget for Dad’s medicine like a car payment; now it’s like buying an extra pizza,” jokes one mom from Roseville, highlighting how affordable cannabis has become.

But for Michigan’s cultivators and dispensary owners, shrinking prices and oversupply are squeezing profits to zero. Many businesses expanded during the boom – leasing storefronts, building grow facilities, hiring staff – only to see revenue per unit drop sharply. Profitability in the cannabis industry has become elusive, even as sales volumes hit records. This dynamic is fueling a shake-out, as we’re now seeing with several Michigan cannabis companies downsizing or closing operations despite the overall market size.

Local Businesses Feel the Squeeze: Closures and Cutbacks

After a frenetic few years of new cannabis shops on every corner, Michigan is now seeing the first notable business closures of the legal era. Several high-profile cannabis companies in Michigan have recently shuttered facilities or scaled back, citing the oversupply and price pressures. Among them:

Pincanna (Pinconning Township, Bay County) – A large Michigan-based operator with retail outlets in East Lansing, Kalamazoo, Kalkaska and more, Pincanna temporarily closed its huge greenhouse cultivation facility in Bay County and laid off part of its workforce. One of Pincanna’s co-founders pointed directly to Michigan’s oversupply and “unsustainable” competition as the reason, noting that even with record product sales statewide, falling prices made profitability impossible.
PharmaCann/LivWell (Warren) – In late 2024, Chicago-based PharmaCann – one of the country’s largest multi-state cannabis firms – announced the closure of its 207,000-square-foot cultivation site in Warren, Metro Detroit. The facility (operated under the LivWell brand) had just unionized, and now roughly 170 workers were laid off. “They told us they just can’t be competitive in Michigan,” a local Teamsters representative said of PharmaCann’s exit. The company also shut its connected Warren dispensary, and its future in Michigan is in doubt.
Fluresh (Adrian) – Another early entrant, Fluresh (doing business as “Tend. Harvest. Cultivate.”) decided to close its $46 million, 105,000-square-foot grow facility in Adrian at the end of 2024. The CEO frankly admitted “it cost me more to grow in Adrian than I could sell on the market.” At the time of the decision, the average price for an ounce of flower had plummeted to just $73.99 – down 21% within that year – making the operation financially unsustainable.

These are just a few examples. Rumblings of consolidation are everywhere: smaller mom-and-pop dispensaries in Metro Detroit report being approached by larger chains interested in buyouts, and some ambitious expansion plans have been put on hold. In early 2025, Quality Roots (a Birmingham-based dispensary chain) opened its first out-of-state store in New Jersey. symbolizing how Michigan companies are seeking growth elsewhere now that the home market is saturated. Likewise, Skymint, once one of Michigan’s fastest-growing cannabis retailers, fell into receivership and auctioned off assets in 2023 – a cautionary tale that preceded the current downturn.

From a Metro Detroit real estate perspective, the cannabis pullback has tangible effects. Over the last few years, dispensaries and grow ops filled many vacant strip malls, industrial parks, and old warehouses from Detroit to Ann Arbor, driving up commercial rents in some areas. Now, with the market cooling, some of those spaces may come back onto the market. Real estate insiders note that landlords who once courted cannabis tenants at premium rates are suddenly worried about vacancies again if these businesses falter. It’s a classic boom-and-bust cycle, playing out on local Main Streets and industrial districts.

Ohio’s Emerging Market: Will Michigan Lose Its Edge?

Michigan’s cannabis success has not happened in a vacuum – out-of-state customers have been a big factor, especially from Ohio. For years, Michiganders have joked about all the Ohio license plates in dispensary parking lots in places like Monroe, Morenci, and Buchanan. Thanks to Michigan’s relatively low prices and legal status, tens of thousands of Ohioans routinely crossed the border to buy their weed here. This cross-border trade boosted Michigan’s sales (helping make it the Midwest’s #1 marijuana market, and many retailers set up shop strategically close to Ohio to cash in on the traffic.

But now the game is changing. Ohio legalized recreational cannabis in November 2023, and the first Ohio dispensaries are expected to begin adult-use sales as early as April 2025. This new development could chip away at Michigan’s edge. Dozens of Michigan stores along the state line – from Monroe’s so-called “Green Mile” of dispensaries off I-75 to little Morenci (pop. 2,200) which hosts five shops on the Ohio border– are bracing for a potential drop in out-of-state customers. In Monroe Township alone, officials estimate half of all dispensary customers are Ohioans, accounting for up to 70% of sales at some shops. If those folks can buy legally at home, it’s likely many will.

That said, Michigan’s dominance won’t vanish overnight. Ohio’s market will take time to ramp up – experts say it could be 18–24 months before a robust retail network and competitive pricing develop in Ohio. Early on, Ohio’s weed is expected to be pricey and limited. (Currently, medical marijuana in Ohio costs about 4× more than Michigan’s recreational weed, a Toledo customer told Bridge Michigan, which is why he still drives to Monroe for better deals.) It might be a while before Ohio’s prices come down near Michigan’s level. “It wasn’t always cheap in Michigan,” that customer noted – recalling that just a few years ago we had $400 ounces here – “but now it’s hard for Ohio to beat these deals”.

In short, Michigan’s border stores likely have a grace period of continued brisk business from Ohioans, until Ohio’s own program matures. However, the writing is on the wall: Michigan will eventually lose some of those cross-border sales that propped up its numbers. Communities like Monroe Township, which have used cannabis tax windfalls to build things like new playgrounds and services for residents, are keenly aware of the coming competition. Look for Michigan operators to respond by emphasizing their quality, variety, and low prices to retain loyalty from any Ohio customers they can – and perhaps by pursuing more out-of-state expansions themselves if the local pie starts shrinking.

Outlook for 2025: Market Correction or End of the Boom?

So, is Michigan’s marijuana boom truly over? From a broad perspective, what we’re seeing in 2025 looks more like a market correction and maturation than a total collapse. The state’s cannabis industry had a euphoric first few years: rapid sales growth, lots of new businesses, and surging tax revenue. Now it’s entering a new phase where supply has caught up with (and overshot) demand, and basic economics are rebalancing the scales.

Industry veterans and analysts often expected this moment. “No market can sustain 30-80% annual growth forever; eventually things level out,” says a Metro Detroit cannabis real estate advisor who watched similar cycles with craft beer and vape shops. Michigan’s situation in 2025 bears that out: sales have flattened and prices have dropped, which is squeezing out weaker players. The silver lining is that the strongest, most efficient businesses will survive and perhaps even thrive with the larger customer base that’s been built. In fact, even with the recent dip, Michigan is still on track to clear around $3 billion in cannabis sales this year, which is hardly a bust. The state’s legal cannabis market remains one of the biggest in the country, and demand from consumers is not going away.

Experts predict a few key trends ahead:

Consolidation – Expect more mergers, acquisitions, or closures. The frenzy of new dispensaries may cool as companies combine to stay afloat. We might end up with fewer, stronger retail brands serving Metro Detroit and beyond, rather than a dispensary on every block.
Stabilizing Prices – There are signs that prices may be bottoming out. March 2025 saw prices stabilize (only a 0.1% drop from February), suggesting the market found a floor. If some growers exit and supply tightens a bit, wholesale prices could even tick up later this year. But don’t expect a return to sky-high prices – consumers have gotten used to affordable weed, and the industry knows it must compete to keep them coming back.
Innovation and Diversification – When survival gets tougher, businesses often get creative. Michigan growers might focus on higher-quality craft strains or niche products to stand out, instead of trying to win on volume alone. Edibles, beverages, and other cannabis-infused products could grow in popularity (using up that fresh-frozen stock) as companies diversify offerings. And some may pivot to servicing the medical or wellness segment more, where loyal patients value consistency and advice.
Policy Adjustments – The oversupply issue hasn’t gone unnoticed by regulators. There’s talk in Lansing about possibly pausing new grow licenses or adjusting rules to prevent market flooding. (Ironically, Governor Whitmer even floated a wholesale tax on cannabis in a recent road-funding proposal, which raised eyebrows in the industry – piling more tax on a struggling sector could be controversial.) How the state manages this next phase – whether through policy or letting the free market run its course – will influence the trajectory of the “boom.”

In the end, Michigan’s cannabis boom is evolving, not dying. The frenzied gold rush days may be cooling, but a more sustainable, community-integrated industry can emerge from the turbulence. For consumers, the novelty has worn off – buying legal weed in Metro Detroit now feels almost as routine as buying craft beer. For businesses, it’s time to focus on smart operations, not just land-grab expansion.

A Neighborly Reminder: Support Local and Stay Informed

The marijuana market may be normalizing, but one thing hasn’t changed: this industry is local and it impacts our communities. Whether you’re a casual user, a medical patient, or just a Metro Detroit neighbor who cares about the local economy, it’s worth staying engaged with what’s happening. Support your local dispensaries and Michigan-based brands if you value a homegrown cannabis community – they’re navigating a tough economy right now. Many shops are offering great deals and customer appreciation events to entice business; it’s a win-win to take advantage and keep dollars in-state.

At the same time, stay informed. Michigan’s cannabis regulations and market conditions continue to evolve (just like the housing market or any local industry). Keep an eye on news about any new rules, tax changes, or opportunities in the cannabis space. If you’re curious how the weed industry’s ups and downs might affect your neighborhood or even your property values, don’t hesitate to talk to a Metro Detroit expert – whether it’s a seasoned budtender, a cannabis business owner, or a local real estate professional who’s been following the trend. They can offer grounded insight on what’s really happening beyond the headlines.

Finally, remember that Michigan’s cannabis story is ultimately about community. The industry’s revenues fund city projects, its shops create local jobs, and its products are enjoyed responsibly by hundreds of thousands of residents. Boom or no boom, that’s something worth nurturing. So next time you stop by your neighborhood dispensary, chat with the folks there, share your support, and enjoy the benefits of a market that – despite a few bumps – has made Michigan a true trailblazer in the Midwest’s cannabis scene. Together, as informed and supportive neighbors, we can help this industry find its sustainable groove for the long haul.