Attempts to Roll Back Cannabis Reforms Surge Nationwide

After years of hard-fought victories to decriminalize and legalize medical and adult-use cannabis, we're now seeing a troubling surge of attempts to overturn the will of the people and roll back reforms in multiple states across the country.

Since 57% of Ohio voters approved an adult-use legalization measure in 2023, a determined group of opposition lawmakers have been working tirelessly to pass revisions that would hike sales taxes, prohibit sharing of cannabis between adults of legal age, and enact other undue restrictions on the possession, cultivation, and sale of cannabis. Most recently, the Ohio Senate passed an outrageous bill (SB 56) that would gut the people's cannabis freedoms. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Gov. Mike DeWine is proposing doubling cannabis excise taxes.

In Nebraska, where voters recently passed initiatives to legalize medical cannabis, there is a bill under consideration that would gut access for patients by prohibiting the use of cannabis flower or edibles as means of administering medical cannabis.

A Montana, 23 of 50 state senators are sponsoring a bill to ban the sale of basically all cannabis products consumers want — anything above 15% THC. The same sponsor proposed, but appears to have abandoned, a bill requiring folks to pay a $200 per year registration fee in order to legally purchase and possess cannabis. MPP has spoken out against implementing this outrageous requirement.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proposed a dramatic tax increase on cannabis — a whopping 32% wholesale tax, in addition to the 16% retail tax on adult-use cannabis that was set by the voter-approved legalization initiative.

Meanwhile, in South Dakota, three bills to chip away at — or entirely repeal — the MPP-backed 2020 medical cannabis initiative were rightfully defeated.

These are just a handful of the numerous troubling legislative developments that MPP and our allies have been monitoring and combatting nationwide. You can help prevent these attempts to roll back vital cannabis reforms by contacting your state legislators, and by responding to MPP's state action alerts that are timed to maximize the impact of your voice.