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Michigan Lawmakers Take Up Bill To Cap Marijuana Business Licenses As Industry Reels From Tax Increase

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3 weeks ago

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“We’re doing everything we can to create the right regulatory framework so that the market can be properly served.”

By: Ben Solis, Michigan Advance

The Michigan Senate is retooling marijuana industry license cap legislation to include new barriers to obtaining a license for growers, processors or dispensary operators with significant industry-related tax debt. help boost the industry as it faces a new 24 percent wholesale tax.

The Michigan Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday heard second testimony on recent changes to Senate Bill 597, a bill that proposes new limits on the state’s marijuana industry licenses. The hearing comes almost a year after the bill was introduced and was the subject of the first hearing in October 2025.

Sponsored by Sen. Sam Singh (D-East Lansing), SB 597 would limit the licensing of marijuana dealers and wholesalers per 10,000 residents in a municipality starting Jan. 1, 2026. The move would be similar to how the state regulates liquor sales, Singh said last year.

SB 597 it is also part of a larger package. Senate bills 599–602 It aims to create a regulatory framework for consumer hemp products in Michigan. That portion was primarily sponsored by Sen. Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia) and was introduced as a way to regulate intoxicating hemp products, including Delta-8 and other synthetic cannabinoids, sold at Michigan gas stations, convenience stores and online marketplaces.

Those pieces passed the Democratic-controlled Senate late last year and are now in the GOP-led House. The license cap piece is still being worked on in the Senate.

Singh’s testimony Wednesday served to refresh the committee’s memory on the legislation and examine the details of the newly adopted bill language.

One of the biggest changes is that licensees must pay all state taxes when seeking another license. It would require the potential licensee to refund the basic tax, fees and tax penalties owed. Singh said the change would align with the way the marijuana industry controls and regulates liquor licenses in Michigan.

The senator said a problem currently facing the Cannabis Regulatory Agency is that it does not have the ability to deny an applicant a new license if that applicant had a previous license, but closed it while owing various state industry taxes, including a required excise tax.

Under the current regulatory framework, a licensee could close their existing license and not have that tax debt continue while they seek a new license because the CRA lacks a mechanism to stop that process because of the tax owed.

Singh said that was more important than ever given how the Legislature added a new 24 percent wholesale tax in the 2025-26 budget deal. The Legislature appropriated $420 million annually in road funding. The the industry is currently fighting that tax in courtas its stakeholders argue, tax will A wholesale marijuana tax generating less revenue than anticipated.

Recent reports indicate that the industry’s struggles have intensified as tax revenues have fallen short of expectations, according to to The Gander.

“Now that we have a wholesale tax of 24 percent, I could see that becoming more and more of an issue,” Singh said. “If we want to make sure that the income is stable, and again, those incomes may be a little low to begin with, we have to make sure those protections are there.”

The updated language includes a provision to place a moratorium on new grower licenses, but allows current growers to obtain an additional license to build and expand. Singh said this was also done to stabilize the market.

Another change concerns the return of products.

“We heard from the Hazkai community that currently, within the law, there is no policy on how to return the product,” Singh said. “What we’ve heard from wholesalers is that some people are returning products weeks, even months, after they’ve received them. So they’ve asked us to find a way to deal with returned product. What our bill basically does is you have three days to return the product, and it has to be in the original packaging and in the original packaging.”

The committee took no further action on the bill.

After the hearing, the Michigan Advance asked Singh if changes to the state’s new wholesale tax did not generate the revenue the Senate and House had hoped to pass.

Singh said this was not a reaction to the problems with the tax.

“We’ve been working on this, these sets of issues, since April of last year. When you have an initiative approved by the voters, there are often things they’ve never thought about, especially on the regulatory side, on the enforcement side,” Singh said. “We are doing everything we can to create the right regulatory scheme to ensure that the market is properly filled, to ensure that the product is safe for those who will use the product, but at the same time to ensure that everyone pays their taxes.”

Whether the bill will help ensure more licensees pay the appropriate tax, Singh said the Legislature, the state and its marijuana industry peers will have to wait and see.

“I always share my personal concern that this tax was higher than it should have been. I think there could have been a combination, with a tax on special increases on the retail side, and maybe a lower wholesale tax,” Singh said. “But at this point, I think it’s too early to gauge where we’re going to be. I think after a couple of quarters, we’ll know what those revenues are going to look like as we go forward.”

This story was first published by the Michigan Advance.

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Entourage Health faces severance claims from dismissed employees

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17 hours ago

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July 9, 2026

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Entourage Health Corp., an Aylmer, Ont.-based cannabis grower, laid off 53 workers on June 8 without notice, offering only two weeks’ pay in lieu of notice rather than layoffs. More than 40 former employees have since filed complaints with Ontario’s Ministry of Labor, alleging the company violated the province’s Employment Standards Act, which entitles workers with more than five years of service at companies with payrolls of more than $2.5 million to receive 26 weeks of severance pay.

The company is owned by the pension fund of LiUNA, a major private sector union, which became Entourage’s largest lender and shareholder following a series of investments beginning in 2017. Entourage was taken private by an entity related to LiUNA in April 2025. After struggling with debt and unprofitability, the company laid off most of its leisure workers, and lost most of its bank employees to CCAA. protection at the end of June 2026. Its medical cannabis division continues to operate with 22 employees.

Court filings show Entourage owes LiUNA’s pension fund about $240 million. Efforts to sell the company generated little industry interest, leading to a bankruptcy filing. Former employees, including Benjamin Hessel and Gabriela Ayee, say they were blindsided by the sudden layoffs and worry they won’t get back the severance they were owed in the restructuring. A labor attorney noted that workers laid off in bankruptcy typically become unsecured creditors with limited recourse because secured lenders and government creditors are prioritized. The federal Wage Protection Program offers affected workers a one-time payment of up to $9,275. Neither Entourage nor the LiUNA Pension Fund responded to requests for comment.










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Wyoming Attorney General Blocks State Marijuana Rescheduling That Would Be Triggered By Trump’s Federal Reform

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17 hours ago

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July 9, 2026

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The attorney general of Wyoming has determined that the state will not reclassify marijuana under state law under a federal rescheduling From the Trump administration.

“The Wyoming Legislature has not legalized medical marijuana, adopted a state-licensed medical marijuana regulatory scheme, or agreed to recognize any other state’s medical marijuana licenses,” Attorney General Keith Kautz (R) said Tuesday. “Therefore, making marijuana subject to a state medical marijuana license in Title III of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act is inconsistent with the police powers previously exercised by the Wyoming Legislature.”

“The question of whether to remove a type of marijuana from Schedule I of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act is a matter for the Wyoming Legislature and should not be done through the administrative rulemaking process,” he said.

The Legislature, however, previously enacted a law stating that “if a substance is designated, rescheduled, or eliminated as a controlled substance under federal law,” the drug and substance abuse commissioner “must control the substance under this law in the same manner as federal law” within 30 days.

Under state law, the attorney general serves as the drug and substance abuse commissioner and can formally challenge the state’s automatic rescheduling to prevent it from happening, subject to a public hearing, “giving all interested parties an opportunity to be heard.”

Kautz called a hearing in June to consider the issue, and also accepted public comments via email.

“The Commissioner received eight comments by email. Four of the comments expressed support for leaving medical marijuana and marijuana products in Schedule I of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act. Four of the comments supported leaving medical marijuana and marijuana in Schedule III of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act. All of the comments, both by email and in person, focused on the important policy considerations surrounding the legalization of marijuana and marijuana products.

According to the Attorney General, “all marijuana products currently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration are already scheduled under the Federal Controlled Substances Act.” referring to prescription medications such as dronabinol, Cesamet, and Epidiolex. “The Commissioner will continue to appropriately monitor individual substances as they are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.”

“After considering all stakeholder comments, the commissioner has determined that all marijuana products, including marijuana subject to the state’s medical marijuana license, will remain in Schedule I of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act,” Kautz’s announcement reads. “This decision is final unless changed by statute.”

Under an order issued in April by US Attorney General Todd Blanche, marijuana products regulated by a state medical cannabis license were immediately changed from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Annex, as well as marijuana products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

An an administrative hearing now underway is examining a broader rescheduling of cannabisincluding for recreational products.

In Wyoming, activists have tried unsuccessfully to put it down initiatives to legalize medical cannabis and decriminalize possession of marijuana on the ballot.

State lawmakers have also considered legislation on the issue, but Wyoming remains one of the few states without legal access to medical marijuana.

In 2022, the speaker of the Wyoming House introduced a bipartisan decriminalization bill to remove criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of cannabis and replace the state’s current felony charge with a $100 fine. But that legislation he did not receive a vote Despite the support of top GOP lawmakers.

A bill to legalize and regulate adult cannabis in Wyoming he advanced from a House committee In 2021, but at the end of that session it didn’t move anymore.

A A survey released in 2020 has been found It found that 54 percent of Wyoming residents approve of allowing adults in the state to “legally possess marijuana for personal use.”

Meanwhile, other states without comprehensive medical cannabis programs are also grappling with changes to state marijuana laws that could trigger federal redistricting action.

A The GOP senator from South Carolina, for example, said that “medical marijuana is now legal.” under a trigger law in the state.

In May, the governing bodies The Alabama Department of Public Health voted against federal rescheduling of marijuana after health officials said they need more time to determine how to implement the change at the state level.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R), on the other hand, signed the legislation this session block automatic review that could have legalized medical marijuana Under state law, after federal drug rescheduling.

user photo Carlos Gracia.

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There’s product in the German market you wonder how it got in

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2 days ago

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July 8, 2026

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Sascha Mielcar, CEO of Canify AG, inspects all the suppliers the company buys from, retesting each batch and discarding anything out of specification. However, cannabis from other companies is reaching German pharmacies that cannot meet these standards. “There is a market in Germany where you wonder how the product got into it,” says Sascha. The certification standards, he believes, are not being strictly applied.

© Canify

“I don’t like the term GMP cleaning, it’s a complex methodology,” says Sascha. His concern is the microbiological purity of what reaches the patients, a product that clears certification abroad and would not survive the same examination in Germany. Canify only sells flowers that are GMP certified, and Sascha would rather turn away business than release something out of spec.

For repair, Canify uses a GMP validated method. “We don’t revel in repairs, but if we do, we do it through a qualified, validated process,” says Sascha. Others in the market use various methods and claim GMP validation, and Sascha is skeptical of the extent of these standards.

From the early days to the international footprint
Canify was among the first movers in the German market. Founded in 2018, obtained GMP certification in 2021 after three years and huge expenses, trading since the end of 2022, imports, processes and releases products from various countries, including Portugal, Canada, Uruguay, Colombia, South Africa, Lesotho, Spain, Denmark and North Macedonia, for its brands and telemedicine and clinical services on its German soil. Its volume grew tenfold in 2024 and fivefold again in 2025, although price compression means revenue has not grown in line with volume. The company has also announced a merger with MG Health, a Lesotho-based grower and manufacturer with GMP I and II certified facilities, a step that Sascha calls Canify vertically integrated on two continents, and what he believes to be the first fully integrated operator of its kind outside of Canada.

© Canify

Cannabis from a bunker in Nato
The manufacturing site has an unusual history. As cannabis was classified as a narcotic, storage regulations were strict, and Canify built its vault inside a former NATO bunker. “It’s a regular piece of real estate, but it’s quite useful,” says Sascha.

© Canify

In terms of product formats, little has changed. Germany remains a compound market where pharmaceuticals are prepared and the main form factor is still dried flower. “We’re using Stone Age form factors, dried flowers,” says Sascha. He doubts whether edibles are legal in Germany and is wary of vaporizers, where the certification covers the device rather than the cartridge, and there are voices calling for the disappearance of these products from the market. Canify is investing in a fully certified device, closer to an inhaler than a vaporizer, designed for precise dosing and high bioavailability. “Germany remains a composite market, the only real way is to work with pharma,” concludes Sascha.

For more information:
Canify AG
canify.com

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