Terrible news: Michigan Senate passes 24% tax hike

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.