Trump drug czar pick dodges cannabis questions from senators (Newsletter: October 13, 2025)

Federal marijuana excise tax is no longer a thought experiment; it’s a live-wire idea stalking Capitol Hill while THC quietly slips into big-box aisles. A Republican senator from North Carolina is sketching the contours: a national regulatory framework, a federal excise tax layered on top of state rules, and an opt-in model for states that want in without dragging the rest along. He insists he’s not anti-cannabis; he just wants order. Meanwhile, Target has begun selling THC-infused beverages in select Minnesota stores—sleek, carbonated cans with the tidy manners of corporate America, but the same old plant whispering from inside. That’s normalization by SKU, and it forces the question: when Washington finally blesses the marketplace, how much will it skim, and what will that do to the fragile arithmetic of legal weed? In this gritty lab of capitalism, cannabis taxation isn’t abstract. It can tilt the board, squeeze operators, and reroute legal cannabis revenue faster than a bad bar tab.

Look at the Midwest for a cautionary tale. Michigan’s market boomed on volume and razor-thin margins; now a proposed wholesale levy has the industry sounding alarms about a death by a thousand invoices. The lesson is simple but brutal: raise effective tax burdens and price-sensitive shoppers drift back to the shadows, taking their dollars with them. Legal sellers eat the overhead—testing, compliance, payroll—while illicit rivals skip the line and undercut on price. That’s how revenue projections turn into ghost stories. If you want a stark read on the stakes, see New Michigan Marijuana Tax Could Shutter Businesses And Actually Reduce The State’s Cannabis Revenue, Industry Says. An excise tax can fund enforcement, research, and public health, sure—but calibrated wrong, it’s a self-inflicted wound that fattens an illicit market you can’t regulate and a budget you can’t bank on.

Complicating the equation is the fog machine of federal policy. The White House drug czar nominee sailed through a key step while sidestepping specifics on marijuana scheduling, promising more examination and fewer commitments. Translation: the rules of the road remain unwritten, and investors hate mystery almost as much as operators hate new fees. Without clarity on scheduling, banking, and interstate commerce, a federal marijuana excise tax risks becoming another layer of friction in a machine already grinding its gears. The political center of gravity is shifting—slowly, awkwardly—but not enough to spare the industry from uncertainty. For a snapshot of the Beltway’s careful two-step, see Senators Advance Trump Pick For White House Drug Czar Who’s Voiced Support For Medical Marijuana But Declined To Endorse Rescheduling. Until the feds pick a lane, taxation debates are happening on a rickety bridge over regulatory quicksand.

At the retail edge, the map looks like a patchwork quilt stitched by competing priorities. Minnesota’s shelves make space for hemp-derived THC drinks; Texas regulators workshop rules that would bar intoxicating hemp sales to people under 21, with industry folks warning that draconian penalties for a single mistake could flatten small players. And in Ohio, a 90-day prohibition on intoxicating hemp products arrived by executive order—creating clarity for some, chaos for others, and pressing the gas on a compliance scramble that only the biggest teams can sprint through. If you want the play-by-play of that Buckeye pivot, read Ohio Governor Issues Order Banning Intoxicating Hemp Product Sales For 90 Days. In the middle of this, consumers do what consumers do: they chase price, convenience, and trust. Retailers, meanwhile, try to read tea leaves that keep changing flavor, one committee meeting at a time.

Public sentiment, though, is marching ahead with a drummer Washington can’t quite hear. Most Americans now say cannabis is a healthier option than alcohol, and many expect nationwide legalization within a handful of years. That’s not a fad; that’s a market signal with a heartbeat. See the pulse here: Most Americans Say Marijuana Is A ‘Healthier Option’ Than Alcohol, And A Majority Expect Nationwide Legalization Within Five Years, Poll Finds. Even in Virginia, where gubernatorial candidates are clashing over whether to move adult-use sales forward or stick with fear-of-the-worksite narrative, the culture war feels stale next to the checkout line. So if a federal marijuana excise tax is coming—and it likely is—make it smart, transparent, and light enough to keep legal operators upright. Do that, and you’ll starve the black market. Botch it, and you’ll feed it. If you’re ready to navigate the legal lane with products that respect the rules and the craft, take a look at our selection: https://thcaorder.com/shop/.