Cannabis consumers disappointed in Trump, poll shows (Newsletter: October 10, 2025)
Michigan Marijuana Tax Increase: picture Lansing at midnight—fluorescent lights humming, burnt coffee turning to tar, and a deal being salted and seared while nobody’s looking at the menu. The new 24 percent wholesale levy on cannabis didn’t drift in like a soft snow; it slammed the window shut. The stated aim is potholes and progress—roads, revenue, responsibility. But in the alleys between policy and payday, this kind of cannabis taxation is a blunt instrument. Michigan’s governor reportedly wrangled the votes to make it stick, and now the Michigan cannabis market is bracing for the hangover: two lawsuits already on the burner, operators recalculating margins between sleepless sips of espresso, and consumers wondering how much of this tab lands in their laps. If you trade in legal cannabis revenue for a living—or just in Friday night peace—you know taxes don’t just exist on paper. They change the entire taste of the dish.
The cannabis industry impact is all about pressure points. In a state as competitive as Michigan—where prices slid after the initial green rush—the math is cruel. Growers squeezed from wholesale. Processors pulled taut by compliance, packaging, and a market that expects champagne at beer prices. Retailers juggling loyalty programs and razor-thin margins while trying not to blink. Some won’t be able to pass costs along. Some will try and lose customers to the illicit market’s siren song. Meanwhile, Ohio’s regulators just yanked products that lacked the universal THC stamp, a reminder that one sloppy label can wreck a quarter. In Arkansas, cannabis receipts are buying kids school meals—proof that marijuana policy reform can be practical, humane, and wildly popular when it funds something you can point to at a PTA meeting. The lesson in all this: a tax isn’t a theory. It’s a line on your receipt, a pink slip at the warehouse, a town budget that finally pencils, a product that suddenly feels a little out of reach.
Washington’s mood music isn’t exactly soothing. The Senate Judiciary Committee nudged along a White House drug czar nominee who talks a good game about medical access while ducking the kind of hard questions that make this industry sweat. If you missed that dance, catch up with Trump’s Drug Czar Pick Dodges Senators’ Marijuana Questions As Her Nomination Advances. In the same breath, a Republican senator floated a federal lane for legalization—let states opt in, set a national tax, move this slog out of the purgatory of memos and raids. It’s the kind of pragmatic heresy that makes K Street twitch and entrepreneurs exhale, and you can see the outline here: GOP Senator Wants To Let States ‘Opt In’ To Marijuana Legalization And Set A Federal Tax On It, Saying He’s ‘Not An Anti-Cannabis Person’. Out in the wild, public opinion is already there—most Americans say cannabis is healthier than alcohol, and a healthy chunk expects national legalization within five years. The market, as ever, is a few exits ahead of the map.
Across the states, the rules keep shape-shifting like a jazz solo after midnight. Veterans groups storm Capitol Hill asking for a fair shake with benefits intact and handcuffs off. Counties flirt with loosening local bans when the tax man whispers sweet numbers. Regulators tweak online tracking platforms and recall gummies that forgot their safety symbol. And in Texas—where “don’t mess with us” is both brand and warning—the hemp crowd and the alcohol lobby did the unlikely Texas two-step, arguing the state’s latest plan for intoxicating hemp products is a boot on the neck. The play-by-play says plenty: Texas Hemp And Alcohol Stakeholders Push Back On ‘Heavy Handed’ Proposed Rules In Meeting With Officials and, if there was any doubt, Texas Hemp And Alcohol Stakeholders Push Back On ‘Heavy Handed’ Proposed Rules In Meeting With Officials. That’s the ecosystem in miniature: legislators counting votes, agencies stretching authority, businesses tallying compliance costs, and consumers voting with their wallets. No saints. No villains. Just incentives and outcomes.
Back in Michigan, the experiment begins. If the marijuana tax increase pays for asphalt and guardrails without kneecapping small growers, you’ll hear defenders say the market adapted. If it hardens the illicit trade and spooks new investment, you’ll see the lawsuits multiply and the politics turn flinty. Either way, we’re past the poetry of legalization and into the prose of governance—mill rates, markup, and the small indignities of a maturing market. The Michigan cannabis market isn’t a trend piece anymore; it’s infrastructure, livelihoods, and the slow grind of tax policy meeting human behavior. Keep your eyes on the balance sheet and your nose on the product. We’ll keep tasting, testing, and telling the stories that matter—and when you’re ready to explore the cleanest line between quality and compliance, step into our kitchen and shop here: https://thcaorder.com/shop/.
