Michigan’s Marijuana Tax Hike Survives Early Legal Challenge

Groups challenging Michigan’s 24% excise tax on wholesale marijuana failed to convince the state claims court to bar enforcement of the law.

The groups didn’t prove that the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act is the sole method by which to tax regulated marijuana in the state, or that the tax increase could only be enacted through a MRTMA amendment passed by a supermajority, Michigan Court of Claims Judge Sima G. Patel ruled Monday.

But further discovery is necessary to determine whether the 24% wholesale tax contravenes the purposes of the MRTMA voter initiative, Sima said, refusing the state’s ...