Dear friends and colleagues in the industry,

It’s rare to see an industry born from a movement.

Many industries know that there are policies they want changed that they cannot credibly address, so they create advocacy organizations and pour millions of dollars into them to prop them up and give the appearance of grassroots support. It’s called Astroturfing. Astroturf is fake grass. But while it may look like grass, it’s inorganic, doesn’t grow, nourishes nothing, and is made of mostly forever plastics and noxious chemicals.

Cannabis advocacy is not astroturf. It wasn’t created by an industry. In fact, just the opposite.

Cannabis policy reform is a movement. And like every fight for justice, ours was born out of suffering: the suffering of people whose liberty, children, homes, education, or lives were stolen from them in the name of the war on drugs. The suffering of those desperate for medicine for themselves or to help a loved one to eat, ease pain, or calm seizures. It rose against a drug war machine that has fueled government overreach, mass incarceration, discrimination, and inequity for nearly a century. All based on lies told about a plant.

Over time, the movement’s integrity and moral urgency drew the attention of philanthropic funders who recognized cannabis reform as a civil rights, healthcare, and justice issue. Their support built the infrastructure that powered legalization, funded litigation, and sustained advocacy during the years before there was an industry to help.

Unlike astroturf campaigns, movements draw power from their independence and integrity. They serve people, not profit.

As the legal cannabis industry emerged, our movement’s goals grew to include the right to safe and reasonable access, which requires an economically stable industry that is rationally regulated, reasonably taxed, and operating in a normalized legal and commercial environment.

But the work of our movement is not done. Prohibition still lingers, and with it, suffering, injustice, and inequity. Now, the industry that our movement birthed is in peril, and we know that if the industry fails, we fail together.

In short, we need each other.

Over the last decade, many of cannabis reform’s philanthropic funders have moved on, and the industry has struggled. As a result, the independent advocacy groups that powered reform, already reduced, are in danger of closing their doors or shrinking to the point of irrelevance. That would be a devastating blow to the industry’s goal of a stable, normalized commercial environment and to the progress we’ve all made together.

A strong industry creates jobs, generates tax revenues, and revitalizes local economies. These arguments were, and still are, powerful incentives for reform. But they cannot finish the job of ending prohibition. They don’t speak to the deeper issues that first brought this movement together, nor can they speak with authority to address the concerns, including public health and safety, that many lawmakers and their constituents have about cannabis.

Today, a resurgent and well-funded neo-prohibitionist movement seeks to weaponize those very issues against us.

Right now, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (Project SAM) and their allies are backing legislation, and soon ballot initiatives, to roll back our progress state by state. And there is a reason they’ve made “Big Marijuana,” meaning the entire cannabis industry, their straw-man enemy. SAM and their allies spread disinformation disguised as concern for public health, safety, and protecting children because they know that fear moves policymakers and voters faster than facts.

They also know that the normal incentives of any industry, reducing costs and maximizing profits, can undercut an industry’s credibility with lawmakers and the public on these threshold issues. Their strategy is to force legislators into a false choice between your profit motives and their claim to the mantle of public health. They want you isolated in that fight.

Independent advocacy shifts the dynamic.

Rooted in integrity and good public policy rather than profit, we are the most effective counter to the neo-prohibitionists now re-emerging in the halls of Congress and state legislatures, in the media, and within federal agencies.

As independent advocates, we speak to the whole issue: criminal justice, civil rights, medical access, public health, and commercialization. We have spent decades building coalitions of healthcare professionals, clergy, law enforcement, civil rights organizations, and community leaders. We bring those credible voices to hearings, to the media, and into the rooms where decisions are made. We have written laws, run campaigns, and helped shape every major victory this movement has achieved.

But independent advocacy requires resources. And resources have been scarce. At the Marijuana Policy Project, we have led the fight to secure 29 medical and adult-use laws, both through legislatures and ballot initiatives. We have helped ensure good faith implementation of those laws and defended them when opponents have tried to roll them back.

Right now, we are laying the groundwork for legalization in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Louisiana, and we have a list of priorities that overlap with the industry’s across multiple legal and medical states. Our team has deep relationships across legislatures, communities, and civil society, and unmatched experience in getting cannabis policy across the finish line.

Karen O’Keefe, who has led MPP’s legislative and policy team for more than twenty years, believes adult-use legalization might have already passed in both New Hampshire and Hawai’i if our campaigns there had been adequately funded. Those are opportunities we cannot afford to waste.

NORML, the other major institutional pillar of cannabis advocacy, has fought for the rights of cannabis consumers for more than fifty years. I don’t work for them, nor do I speak for them. But from my perspective, it’s clear that NORML’s potential is underutilized. They have the most recognizable “brand” in cannabis and supporters in nearly every state. Deputy Director Paul Armentano alone places dozens of op-eds and commentaries in major outlets each year and appears regularly on national platforms as one of the nation’s most informed voices on the issue. Despite serious funding challenges, this year NORML led the coalition that defeated California’s proposed cannabis tax hike and mobilized 17,000 legislative contacts on a single bill in Ohio to successfully block an effort to recriminalize much of what voters had decriminalized at the ballot box. That’s impact.

Cannabis advocacy organizations do not work for the industry, and it’s true that we will not always align or collaborate on every issue. But our independence is a feature, not a bug. It’s what gives us credibility and increases our power over time. Anyone who wants to see sensible and lasting normalization in cannabis needs that independent power working at full strength.

I write today with real urgency to suggest that it’s time for a deeper, coordinated conversation between the leaders of industry at every level and the institutions of independent advocacy about how we move forward together. That means renewed financial support, yes. But it also means better strategic alignment across our common goals and shared purpose as we confront our common challenges. Neither industry nor advocacy will succeed alone.

If you were the “CEO of cannabis policy,” directing every player in the space and tasked with increasing shareholder value by securing permanent commercial normalization, and times were tough, would you cut your most effective team, the one that has delivered or significantly contributed to virtually every policy victory you’ve ever had, to save a small fraction of your budget? Of course not. But that’s what’s happening. Not by malice, nor by choice, but by drift.

And maybe you didn’t even realize it was happening. So it wasn’t your responsibility to step up.

But now you know.

So now it is.

Let’s talk.

Adam J. Smith
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project

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The Michigan Senate voted 19-17 to add a crushing 24% wholesale cannabis tax on top of Michigan’s existing 16% tax at retail. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) — who had initially proposed a staggering 32% wholesale tax — pressured senators to pass the bill and Speaker Matt Hall (R) threatened a shutdown if it didn’t pass. 

The bill, HB 4951, takes effect on January 1, 2025.

This massive tax increase is expected to shutter businesses, destroy jobs, and drive more sales to the unregulated market. While excise taxes do not apply to medical cannabis sales, registering as a patient requires a doctor’s certification and a $40 registry fee. The number of registered patients has dropped 75% since legalization and there are currently only 13% as many medical provisioning centers licenses as adult-use retail licenses. 

If you live in Michigan, let your state senator and representative know you appreciate their vote if they voted “no” on the tax hike and how disappointed you are if they voted “yes.” You can find your senator’s vote here and your representative’s vote here. If you’re not sure who represents you in Lansing, you can look up your senator here and your representative here.

We are grateful to every “no” vote, and especially want to thank Senator Jeff Irwin (D), who was a vocal opponent of the crushing tax hike, and is a longtime champion for the cannabis community. We also deeply appreciate everyone who spoke out, and who traveled to the capitol — in some cases three days in a row — to plea for the Senate to “Save our Jobs.” The voices of workers and consumers prevented the Senate from reaching the needed votes for two days, but sadly, the pressure from the governor and the speaker’s threat won out.

The Michigan House of Representatives voted to add an oppressive new 24% wholesale tax to cannabis, which is already taxed at 16% at retail.

If you live in Michigan, tell your senator to oppose this outrageous and unfair tax.

Email and call your state senator, and engage with them on social media.

Cannabis consumers pay far more than their fair share already. The tax on beer and wine is a fraction of the tax on cannabis. Cannabis consumers shouldn’t be singled out to foot the bill for road repairs.

The revenue projections from the tax increase are a fantasy. Michigan sells more cannabis than any other state because of its reasonable prices. A huge portion of cannabis consumers come from other states for Michigan’s affordable cannabis. A massive tax increase will stop that. Michigan’s already-struggling cannabis industry will not be able to absorb this massive tax increase. Many businesses will shutter, and workers will lose their good-paying jobs.

Voting in Virginia’s 2025 election has begun! The outcome of the governor's race and House of Delegates races will likely determine whether Virginia finally legalizes cannabis sales. 

Early in-person voting began Friday, September 19, and runs through November 1. The last day to vote is on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4.

In 2021, when the Commonwealth had a Democratic House, Senate, and governor, Virginia legalized possession and home cultivation for adults. However, provisions legalizing cannabis sales had to be “re-enacted” again in 2022 to take effect. In November 2021, Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) and a Republican House majority were elected, and they refused to re-enact legal cannabis sales. The Democrats regained a majority in the House in 2023 and sent Gov. Youngkin bills to legalize sales in 2024 and 2025, but he vetoed them and other cannabis policy reforms. Gov. Youngkin is not eligible to run for a second term, and there is a stark contrast between the 2025 candidates.

Gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears (R), who is currently lieutenant governor, is anti-cannabis. In 2021, she told an audience at a rally that “marijuana is a gateway drug” and that she fired an employee of hers who was “on” marijuana. She has given no indication that she is open to legal sales. She claimed legalization is “decimating communities.”

Former United States Representative Abigail Spanberger (D) has repeatedly stated she wants to work with the General Assembly to legalize and regulate sales for adults. She would like to see cannabis tax revenues used for education in Virginia. Her voting record in Congress was mostly pro-cannabis policy reform.

While we do not have a full voter guide for other races, you can find more information from our friends at NORML. Of note, the current Democratic majority in the House of Delegates approved legalizing cannabis sales, while the Republican majority failed to do so in 2021-2022. In 2025, the Democratic-controlled House also sent Gov. Youngkin bills to protect parents from being considered child abusers based solely on the responsible use of cannabis (HB 2613), to expand delivery options for patients (HB 1989), and to allow for resentencing of people previously convicted of some cannabis violations (HB2555). He vetoed all three bills. 

If you live in Virginia, you can check your voter registration status here or register to vote until October 24. The future of cannabis legalization will likely be decided for the next four years in this election.

Thanks in large part to everyone who took action, the California tax rollback is now a reality! 

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed AB 564 into law. Now, cannabis consumers and business owners will feel relief from the 19% cannabis excise tax reverting back to 15% on October 1.

We are extremely grateful to our allies at Cal NORML for not only sponsoring this bill, but playing a leading role in getting it across the finish line! Also, thank you to Assemblymember Matt Haney for championing the legislation. 

As always, we will continue to push back on any harmful cannabis proposals that affect patients and consumers! 

Nebraska’s emergency rules for medical cannabis have gotten even worse in their latest iteration. After successfully demanding that regulators add a hard cap on medical cannabis plants, Gov. Jim Pillen (R) signed new emergency regulations into law on September 9. As emergency rules, these will need to be replaced with permanent rules. 

Outrageously, the emergency rules ban the sale of all edibles, in addition to raw flower and vaporization products. They cap the total number of growers at four and allow only 1,250 plants each, regardless of whether this meets demand. We outline these and many other problems with the rules here.

If you live in Nebraska and are able, please show up in person to urge the commission to enact permanent rules that respect the voter-enacted law:

  What: Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission meeting 

  When: September 30, 1:00 p.m.

  Where: 301 Centennial Mall South, 1st floor, Hearing Room, Lincoln, NE

In other news, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission is accepting cultivator applications through September 23 for licenses in this knee-capped program. Applications will be chosen by lottery. To be eligible for licensure, they must score at least 70 out of 100 on factors like comprehensive business plans, financial stability, and operational readiness.

While the outrageous emergency rules are dispiriting, don’t give up. In other states, the outcry of voters and patients has prevented lawmakers and regulators from gutting the voter-enacted cannabis laws. And in many states, initially restrictive laws and rules were relaxed in future years.

And remember, it’s only due to people-power that regulations were issued at all. The commission was stalled until advocates mobilized around an implementation bill, which forced the governor’s hand. 

Keep raising your voice and standing up for a compassionate, functional program!

On September 1, HB 46 took effect, significantly expanding the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), Texas’ restrictive medical cannabis law. Some parts of the law, however, required administrative rulemaking to implement:

• The Department of Public Safety (DPS) has proposed rules to license more dispensing organizations and to allow satellite locations.   

• The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has proposed rules including to create processes for requesting approval of devices for non-smoked pulmonary inhalation.

We are also requested three revisions to rules for pulmonary inhalation devices, which add new hurdles that are not in the law:

• removing the apparent requirement, which is not HB 46, that physicians are required to prescribe a specific device for pulmonary inhalation.

• adding a reasonable and explicit deadline for approving medical devices for pulmonary inhalation. 

• allowing dispensary organizations, patients, and manufacturers of devices for pulmonary inhalation to request approval for devices. The proposed rules only allow prescribing physicians to propose approval of devices for pulmonary inhalation. 

Check out our comments to DSHS. If you’d like to weigh in on either set of rules, you can: 

• submit comments on the proposed DSHS rules to [email protected] with “Comments on Proposed Rule 25R037” in the subject line. While the deadline for comment is October 6, rules must be effective by October 1, so it may be prudent to submit by late September.

• send comments on the proposed DPS rules to [email protected] by Sunday, September 21.

Our allies at the Texas Cannabis Policy Center have additional information on the rules and licensing process and timeline here. 

Thanks for all of your advocacy this year to expand medical cannabis and defeat the ban on hemp-derived THC!

New laws, regulations, and court decisions are impacting access for medical cannabis patients and cannabis businesses in several states. While some developments are positive, such as Texas recently expanding its Compassionate Use Program, others are cause for concern and opportunities for advocacy.

Texas: On September 1, HB 46 took effect, significantly expanding the Texas Compassionate Use Program (TCUP), Texas’ restrictive medical cannabis law, including by adding chronic pain, allowing inhalation of extracts, and replacing the 1% THC cap with a 1 gram/ package cap. 

Some parts of the law, however, required administrative rulemaking to implement. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) has proposed rules to license more dispensing organizations and to allow satellite locations. Additionally, the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has proposed rules to create a process for requesting approval of devices for non-smoked pulmonary inhalation and to establish a process for physicians to request that DHS recommend the legislature approve additional qualifying conditions.  

MPP has submitted comments to DSHS, raising several concerns about how the rules would undermine HB 46. If you’d like to weigh in, you can submit comments on the proposed DHS rules to [email protected] with “Comments on Proposed Rule 25R037” in the subject line (while the deadline for comment is October 6, rules must be effective by October 1, so it may be prudent to submit by late September) and send comments on the proposed DPS rules to [email protected] by Sunday, September 21.

Our allies at the Texas Cannabis Policy Center have additional information on the rules and licensing process and timeline here. 

In other news, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued Executive Order GA 56 on September 10, directing agencies to age-gate and further regulate hemp-derived THC products. Make sure you’re signed up for MPP’s Texas e-mail alerts for updates on rulemaking.

Georgia: The Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on Georgia's Medical Marijuana and Hemp Policies is tasked with studying and evaluating policies and procedures surrounding medical marijuana and hemp products. The meeting dates and locations can be found here. Georgia currently has a low-THC medical cannabis law that allows extracts with up to 5% THC. 

Nebraska: Gov. Jim Pillen signed outrageous medical cannabis emergency regulations that the state’s leading medical cannabis advocate called the “nail in the coffin” for the medical program. MPP’s comments on an earlier version of the proposed emergency regulations can be found here. The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission is accepting applications for cultivation licenses through September 23, 2025.

Alabama: The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) is preparing to have an administrative law judge hold investigative hearings that could “resolve a key issue by finally issuing licenses to dispensaries.” Currently, there are court-imposed stays in the issuance of licenses, brought on by lawsuits from applicants.

Kentucky: Medical cannabis sales are expected to launch by the end of the year, according to Gov. Andy Beshear. The portal for applying for medical cannabis patient cards has become operational. The state has created a guidebook to help walk patients through the process to become a registered patient, and the Office of Medical Cannabis is hosting a series of webinars​ for how potential patients and caregivers can become medical cannabis cardholders.

Federal: In Congress, the House Appropriations Committee has approved a spending bill that would block the Department of Justice from using funds to advance federal marijuana rescheduling, essentially halting any action the White House might take to reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act. Marijuana is currently listed as Schedule I under the CSA — the most restrictive designation reserved for drugs with high potential for abuse and no clearly determined medical use. 

On September 10, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued Executive Order GA 56, directing agencies to age-gate and further regulate hemp-derived THC products. Gov. Abbott vetoed a hemp-derived THC ban (SB 3) on June 23. Since then, he has repeatedly called for the legislature to regulate, not ban, these products. However, the legislature was unable to come to a compromise in either special session. 

Abbott posted the executive order on X, saying, “Safety for kids, freedom for adults.”

In the executive order, the governor calls for the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission (TABC) and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to craft new regulations. The executive order directs them specifically to:

• Use total delta-9-THC when measuring potency, using both delta-9-THC and “the conversion of THCA” 
• Require ID checks and ban purchases by anyone under the age of 21
• Revise labeling, testing, enforcement, and accountability standards
• Change regulatory fees

It also provides that the Department of Public Safety will enforce state laws on unlawful sales of hemp products.

In the introductory part of the proclamation, the governor cited HB 36 and HB 309 from the second special session as examples for further consideration. A study will be undertaken as to how policies similar to what was proposed in HB 309 could be implemented.

The rule-making procedure is very important for the future of these products in Texas. They will be subject to public comments after they are released in the Texas Register. We will continue to keep you up to date with this process. 

As Michigan’s budget impasse continues, MIRS reports that proposals “such as a $470 million new wholesale marijuana tax, [and others] …  are all ideas the Senate D's are moving toward.” Earlier this year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) proposed a massive 32% wholesale excise tax on cannabis, in addition to the current burden of 16% at retail. 

If you live in Michigan, ask your lawmakers to stand up against this massive tax increase on cannabis consumers.

Cannabis is already taxed at a far higher rate than alcohol. Michigan taxes wine at 13.5 cents per liter, about 1% for a $10 bottle, plus standard sales taxes. Michigan’s cannabis consumers, many of whom use cannabis as a medicine, should not have to shoulder a massive new tax burden. 

Roughly doubling the tax burden on cannabis would also strike another blow to Michigan’s small cannabis businesses, which are already struggling. This will drive demand underground, to the intoxicating hemp market, and even across the border to Ohio — which has a 15.75% tax rate.

Cannabis consumers already pay more than their fair share in taxes — at an amount that was set in the voter-approved initiative. Cannabis consumers shouldn’t be singled out to shoulder the burden for fixing Michigan’s roads.