The Republican Party’s nominee for governor of Michigan is promising to repeal or significantly roll back a recently enacted tax hike on the marijuana industry if he is elected in November. He also wants to crack down on sales of unregulated hemp THC products.
Last year, lawmakers and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), who is term-limited and cannot run again this year, enacted a new 24 percent wholesale cannabis tax.
Industry advocates have argued that the levy—which is added on top of an existing 10 percent excise tax and 6 percent sales tax on marijuana purchases—increases the cost of doing business for legal operators and makes it harder for them to compete with the illicit market.
GOP gubernatorial candidate John James agrees, saying in a plank of his “Freedom Agenda” unveiled this week that the cannabis tax “drives up prices, gives illegal operators a competitive edge, and has already fallen far short of revenue projections.”
“As Governor, I will work to repeal or sharply reduce it,” he said.
“Michigan voters approved a legal, regulated cannabis market in 2018,” James said. “State government has a responsibility to respect that decision while promoting workplace and community safety, keeping intoxicating products out of the
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