Montanans: It’s time to activate to protect your access to legal cannabis from being given away by Montana politicians to drug cartels.

Several new bills require you to raise your voice with your lawmakers, and let them know you oppose repealing the cannabis legalization that a 62% majority of Montana voters approved.

Follow this link to sign up for email notifications and tell state lawmakers ‘don’t tread on my cannabis rights.’ Share it widely.

There are nearly 100,000 cannabis consumers in Montana—it’s high time lawmakers thought twice about infringing on their rights.

What’s going on with Montana legalization repeal in 2025?

Each year, Republican lawmakers try a host of measures to give the legal industry away to illicit market dealers including drug cartels. This year, the new bills include:

Capping THC in any product at 15%

Cannabis flower regularly tests above 20%. Virtually every extract and vape would be banned. The bill—Senate Bill 443—might as well have been written by illegal vape peddlers who sell untested poison to children. Email your lawmaker with the subject headline ‘Oppose SB 443.’ In the body text, state that you are a voter in their district. Calls and texts are even better.

A government watch list of stoners

A different bill—SB255—would charge each recreational smoker $200 and make them register with the state. Very Orwellian. Email your lawmaker with the subject headline ‘Oppose SB 255.’ In the email body, state that you are a voter in their district. Calls and texts are even better.

When should I speak up on Montana’s repeal of legalization?

The time is now. 

‘Political giveaway to cartels’ bill hearing is February 27

The 15% THC potency cap bill that gives the legal industry to the cartels—SB443—has just come out and will go to a committee hearing first. The first committee hearing is one of the best places to nip it in the bud. Email these members of the Business Labor and Economic Affairs committee.

‘Watch list for stoners’ bill gets hearing is also on February 27

The ‘government watch list of stoners’ bill—SB255—also just came out, and heads to a committee hearing on February 27. Flipping just a couple of committee members can kill this bill for this year. Email these members of the Business Labor and Economic Affairs committee.

Who is trying to trample on cannabis consumers’ rights in Montana?

A small cadre of Republican lawmakers opposed the 62% majority of Montanans that approved cannabis legalization. The list includes: the 25 co-sponsors on the drug cartel gift bill SB443. 

The ‘stoner watch list’ bill SB255 comes solely from state senator Greg Hertz. Sen. Hertz took political contributions from police and alcohol groups in 2024.

Why are lawmakers subverting the people’s will?

Because some politicians think they know better than the 62% of Montanans that approved legalization. Even though they are ‘small government’ ‘personal freedom and responsibility’ Republicans—they’ve set aside those values. Some take money from police lobbies. Others take money from supporters of big government ‘nanny state’ paternalism.

Why are Montana Republicans writing bills to benefit illicit drug dealers including drug cartels?

Because they either don’t know or don’t care that restricting lawful access to taxed and regulated cannabis turns the industry over to street dealers that don’t test and don’t card. They believe America is better off with prohibition and the war on marijuana.

Can Montana voters win this year?

Sure. Montana voters, activists, and industry have already defeated one bad bill to limit free speech in the cannabis trade. House Bill 331 tried to gag cannabis operators from talking about marijuana in public. Lawmakers abandoned HB331 on February 6. It could likely return this session, and will surely return in 2027—so supporters must stay vigilant each year for bad bills such as these.

Protecting Montana’s legalization is easier than winning legalization. All voters have to do is get their lawmaker to abstain or skip a key committee vote, and politicians love to do nothing, experts note.

So get involved! We’ve found that cannabis is a gateway to all sorts of civic engagement. Once you know exactly who your representatives are, how to reach them, and see the results—speaking your mind can become habit-forming!

Download the Leafly app, turn on notifications, and get on our email list to stay plugged in.

The fog of the inauguration has cleared, and prospects for weed law reform look dim in Washington D.C. under the second Trump Administration. 

But don’t get bummed—experts say voters have the power to dictate their fate at the level where it most impacts them: their city and state.

According to veterans of the country’s weed wars for decades, no executive order, DEA ruling, or Congressional bill is on tap to deliver the legalization that 70% of US voters want. But a series of state battles are brewing, where regular folks can defend and advance their freedoms.

“No one is coming to save us. There’s no hero here,” said cannabis investor Emily Paxia, co-founder at Poseidon Asset Management. Paxhia is a veteran of the major reform group Marijuana Policy Project. “Every victory has been at the state level, and I think there’s still hope.”

Before we dive into the weed reform battles brewing in California, Ohio, Montana, Nebraska, and Texas, let’s run down prospects in the three branches of government: a distracted Executive; a hostile Legislative; and a wild card Judicial.

Conflicting White House priorities

Many experts don’t see legal weed as a priority at a Republican White House. 

During the election, the famously straight-edge candidate said he supported Florida legalization Amendment 3, rescheduling, and a State’s Rights approach to pot policy. Since then—silence. Some take the President at his word, including the major lobbying group the US Cannabis Council.

“President Trump has clearly stated his position on cannabis reform. He supports rescheduling, banking access, and state-level legalization,” the USCC wrote to Leafly. “We have every expectation that he will follow through on his commitments, and we look forward to working with his administration to move our nation forward.”

Conversely, Paul Armentano—Deputy Director of America’s most notable reform group, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)—doubts the President will lift a finger for potheads.

“There is really nothing in Trump’s history that would lend one to believe that this is an issue that he wishes to prioritize.”

Paxhia said industry and experts have briefed the President, and he understands legal cannabis is about taxation and regulation, not underage use.

“But the biggest question is where the priority lies for his new presidency.”

A dead end at HHS and DEA

President Biden’s bungling of rescheduling showed how the White House can’t just snap its fingers and take marijuana off the Controlled Substances Act. It requires the Drug Enforcement Administration or an act of Congress. The folks at both of those places are no friend to grass.

President Trump nominated pro-pot Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary, but then RFK. Jr. promptly demurred to the DEA.

Moreover, President Trump then nominated a longtime drug warrior to run the DEA—Terry Cole. That’s bad news for those hoping the DEA would give rescheduling marijuana a fair hearing.

Armentano said from years of experience that rescheduling is a catch-22: “There is no way you’re ever going to get a level playing field in that process.”

So legalizing administratively looks like a dead-end. What about Congress?

Congress: Dim and dimmer

Congressional Republicans promise to do less on weed law reform than the do-nothing Democrats that preceded them.

For example, former Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer never brought even a modest pot banking bill to the Senate floor. The first Republican pot bill this session would retain prohibition-era taxes on any cannabis business deemed legal.

Congress rewards seniority, and the shot-callers in both houses are veterans of prohibition, said Armentano.

The Supreme Court: Joker’s wild

One bright spot might turn out to be the judicial branch. The highest court in the land now envisions a less powerful federal government. That vision could net a win for state weed programs.

The Supreme Court has taken a more federalist turn after several Trump appointments. Specifically, the new conservative majority could narrow the reach of 1970’s Controlled Substances Act, and thus protect state-legal cannabis systems. 

In particular, a pending case questions the application of the US Constitution’s inter-state Commerce Clause to quash intra-state weed commerce. 

“This is an avenue that doesn’t get enough attention,” she said.

The real action: Back in the States

Cannabis fans can score real wins defending the weed rights they’ve already won and advancing new ones at the state level this year.

It’s an opportunity to hold your elected representatives accountable for real change. Take a look:

Protecting Montana

For example: Montanans must rally to protect legalization there. It’s under threat by a new bill to charge each recreational smoker $200 and make them register with the state. Another bill caps THC at 15% across the board—a giveaway to street dealers and the illicit market.

“They are really after us this time,” David Liberman, general manager at Lionheart Cannabis. Montana’s 100,000 or so cannabis consumers can get engaged here.

Tax equality for Californians

Californians can meet their representative Sacramento Lobby Day on March 24 to stop another tax hike. Cali weed smokers pay 150 times the taxes on a joint compared to a glass of wine, and 60 times more taxes than beer drinkers.

Defending Ohio, Nebraska, and South Dakota

Ohio, Nebraska, and South Dakota have legalized adult-use, or medical cannabis, but politicians didn’t get the memo. Supporters in each state will have to defend their voter-approved measures against Republican efforts to undo the people’s will.

Pennsylvania’s push

Furthermore, Pennsylvania’s Governor Josh Shapiro wants to enact majority-supported adult-use legalization there, but he’ll need voters to lean on their representatives.

“Legalizing adult-use cannabis will make Pennsylvania more competitive, bring in more money to help our communities, and create real opportunity for small businesses all across our Commonwealth,” he wrote Feb. 24.

Freedom to grow in Washington state

Talk about a bellwether: one of the nation’s oldest adult-use cannabis states—Washington—will still lock you up for growing a single weed plant. Will voters speak up to help pass House Bill 1449? Weigh in here.

Find your voice

With 41 medical states, and super-majority US support for legalization—no voter should fear raising the cannabis issue with their state representative, or state senator, said Armentano. There are about 34 million regular cannabis users in America. It’s high time elected officials heard from them.

For example, weed voters defeated an Ohio legalization attack in 2023 with 7,500 emails to legislators.

“We have seen when a lot of cannabis consumers push this issue, politicians will respond,” he said.

Even better, defeating many state freedoms often requires politicians to just skip or abstain from a committee vote. And politicians love to do nothing.

“Typically it’s easier to defeat legislation than it is to pass legislation,” Armentano said. “We have that home-field advantage in a lot of these instances.”

So don’t pout, doom scroll, or hold your breath for some savior. Lend your voice to stir up change that’ll percolate up from the states. Indeed, that’s how lasting change happens.

In recent months, Michigan has found itself at the intersection of two significant issues: the deteriorating state of its roads and the burgeoning cannabis industry. Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s ambitious plan to allocate funds from marijuana taxes to repair potholes has ignited a lively debate within both the political and cannabis communities. As the state grapples with aging infrastructure, the proposal raises questions about funding priorities, industry sustainability, and consumer impact. This article delves into the details of the plan, its implications for Michigan’s cannabis sector, and the broader conversation it has sparked.

The State of Michigan’s Roads

Michigan is notorious for its rough roads. According to a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers, nearly 40% of Michigan’s roads are in poor condition, leading to increased vehicle damage and safety concerns for drivers. The state has long struggled with funding for road repairs, often relying on gas taxes and federal funds that have proven insufficient to address the growing backlog of maintenance needs.

 The Economic Impact of Poor Infrastructure

The economic ramifications of poor road conditions are profound. Businesses face higher transportation costs due to vehicle wear and tear, while residents experience longer commute times and reduced quality of life. Additionally, inadequate infrastructure can deter new businesses from setting up shop in Michigan, further stifling economic growth.

Governor Whitmer’s Proposal

In response to these pressing issues, Governor Whitmer announced a comprehensive $3 billion plan aimed at revitalizing Michigan’s roads. The proposal focuses on innovative funding strategies, including a significant increase in taxes on marijuana products.

 Funding Breakdown

The proposed funding plan includes:

• $1.7 billion from corporate taxes and technology companies.

• $1.2 billion from increased gas taxes.

• $500 million cut from unspecified spending areas.

• A 32% wholesale tax on marijuana products projected to generate $470 million annually.

This ambitious approach aims not only to repair potholes but also to create a more sustainable funding model for ongoing infrastructure needs.

The Role of Cannabis Tax Revenue

Michigan legalized recreational marijuana in 2018, leading to a rapid expansion of the cannabis market. With over 400 licensed dispensaries and a thriving cultivation sector, tax revenue from cannabis sales has become a significant source of income for the state. Currently, marijuana products are subject to a 10% excise tax and a 6% sales tax; however, Governor Whitmer’s proposal seeks to elevate this wholesale tax substantially.

Reactions from the Cannabis Community

The announcement has elicited mixed reactions from various stakeholders within Michigan’s cannabis community. While some applaud the idea of using cannabis tax revenue for public goods like road repairs, others express concern about the potential negative consequences for the industry.

Support for the Initiative

Many proponents argue that using cannabis tax revenue for infrastructure improvements is a logical step forward. They contend that as one of the most lucrative sectors in Michigan’s economy, the cannabis industry should contribute significantly to public services.

• Public Good Argument: Advocates argue that better roads benefit everyone, including those in the cannabis industry who rely on transportation for distribution and customer access.

• Community Investment: Some believe that investing in infrastructure will enhance overall community well-being and support local businesses.

Concerns About Increased Taxes

On the other hand, several dispensary owners and industry advocates express serious concerns about the proposed tax increase:

• Impact on Consumers: Many fear that raising taxes on marijuana products will lead to higher prices for consumers. One dispensary owner noted that some products could see price increases close to 90%, making legal cannabis less competitive against black market alternatives.

• Market Viability: There is apprehension that higher prices could drive consumers back into the black market, undermining years of progress made in legalizing and regulating cannabis sales.

• Small Business Struggles: Smaller dispensaries may struggle more than larger corporations to absorb increased costs, potentially leading to business closures and reduced competition in the market.

Broader Economic Implications

The intersection of road funding and cannabis taxation raises broader questions about economic policy in Michigan. As states across the U.S. grapple with similar challenges—balancing public needs with industry growth—Michigan’s approach may serve as a case study for others.

Balancing Act: Public Needs vs. Industry Growth

Governments must find ways to fund essential services while fostering economic growth in emerging industries like cannabis. The challenge lies in ensuring that taxation does not stifle innovation or drive consumers away from legal markets.

 Potential Alternatives

Some industry representatives have called for alternative funding solutions that do not rely solely on increased taxation:

• Reallocation of Existing Funds: Advocates suggest examining current budget allocations to identify areas where funds can be redirected toward road repairs without imposing new taxes.

• Public-Private Partnerships: Collaborations between government entities and private companies could provide innovative solutions for funding infrastructure projects without burdening taxpayers or industries.

• Incentives for Local Businesses: Offering incentives or tax breaks for local businesses involved in road repair projects could stimulate job creation while addressing infrastructure needs.

Political Landscape

Governor Whitmer’s proposal has also ignited discussions within Michigan’s political landscape. Republican lawmakers have voiced opposition to increasing taxes on marijuana products as part of road funding strategies.

Republican Counterproposal

In response to Whitmer’s plan, Republican lawmakers have proposed an alternative $3 billion road funding strategy that does not rely on tax increases. This plan emphasizes reallocating existing funds rather than imposing new taxes on any industry.

Bipartisan Cooperation Challenges

While both parties agree on the need for better roads, finding common ground on how to fund these improvements remains elusive. The debate over using marijuana tax revenue highlights broader ideological differences regarding taxation and government spending priorities.

 The Future of Cannabis Regulation in Michigan

As discussions around Governor Whitmer’s proposal continue, they underscore broader trends in cannabis regulation across the United States. States that have legalized marijuana are increasingly looking at how best to leverage tax revenue generated from this burgeoning industry.

Lessons Learned from Other States

States like Colorado and California have faced similar challenges regarding how best to utilize cannabis tax revenue. In Colorado, funds have been allocated toward education initiatives and public health programs; however, debates continue over how effectively these funds are being utilized.

 Ensuring Transparency and Accountability

For Michigan’s approach to be successful, it will be essential to establish transparency and accountability measures regarding how cannabis tax revenues are spent. Ensuring that funds are directed toward meaningful infrastructure improvements will be critical in maintaining public support for both road repairs and continued investment in the cannabis industry.

Conclusion

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s plan to fix potholes using marijuana tax revenue has sparked an important conversation about infrastructure funding and its relationship with emerging industries like cannabis. While many see this as an innovative solution to longstanding issues with road conditions in Michigan, others raise valid concerns about potential negative impacts on consumers and small businesses within the cannabis sector.

As discussions evolve, it will be crucial for stakeholders from government officials to industry representatives to engage collaboratively in seeking solutions that benefit both public infrastructure needs and economic growth within the cannabis community. The outcome of this debate may not only shape Michigan’s future but also serve as a model for other states navigating similar challenges as they balance public service needs with burgeoning industries’ growth potential.

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