GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — With recreational marijuana starting to be introduced locally, the industry is becoming more of an influence in the state’s economy.

The state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency shows that prices are falling, while sales are on the rise.

The industry is broken up into two sections: medical and recreational. Medical is more restrictive and requires a special license, but recreational can be sold to anyone over 21.

“The medical market is a lot cheaper than the recreational market,” said Dean St. Peter, co-founder of ArCanna, a cannabis shop in Ionia. “There’s a lot less taxation too. There’s an additional 10 percent excise tax on recreational cannabis that medical does not have.”

It’s because of the caregiver supply chain, a network of growers that’s been supplying the cannabis centers, which comes to an end on Oct. 1.

After that, prices are expected to go up for a while. But for now, people seem to be enjoying the low prices.

“We have a lot of unemployment right now,” he said. “People are sitting at home collecting benefits — enhanced benefits, in fact — and they’re enjoying their time at home.”

ArCanna, located off of Beardsley Road in Ionia, expects to start selling recreational marijuana within the next three months.