Filed Under: Weekly Burn
The week dragged reform through red tape and new taxes. Michigan mugged its own market. New York held a line in court. Massachusetts tried to get its act together. Pennsylvania remembered compassion. Germany rewound progress.
STATEHOUSE HEADLINER
Michigan slaps a 24 percent wholesale tax on weed
Governor Gretchen Whitmer called it a “fix for the roads.” Growers called it a stickup. Michigan’s new wholesale tax piles 24 percent on top of the state’s 10 percent excise and 6 percent sales taxes, making legal cannabis one of the most over-taxed products in America. The Michigan Cannabis Industry Association fired back with a lawsuit, arguing the tax violates the state’s voter-approved legalization law. Small dispensaries warn they will close before the asphalt gets a dime.
Grade: F
GOVERNMENT CLOWN CAR AWARD
New York buffer-zone blunder ends up in court
After state regulators mis-measured school distances, more than 150 licensed dispensaries faced forced relocation. A state judge granted an injunction letting them stay open while Albany cleans up its mess. The regulators who could not use a map now get homework from the court.
Grade: C
REGULATOR ROULETTE
Massachusetts brings its watchdog back from limbo
The Cannabis Control Commission chair returned after a year of courtroom drama. Lawmakers are pushing a modernization bill to simplify testing, licensing, and agency structure. If they deliver, the market finally gets adult supervision. If not, it stays the same clown show.
Grade: C+
PATIENT RIGHTS WATCH
Pennsylvania moves to allow medical cannabis in hospitals
A bipartisan group of state senators advanced a bill to let terminal patients use their prescribed cannabis in hospital care. For once, politics got out of the way of compassion. Real people will feel this one.
Grade: B
INTERNATIONAL HEAT CHECK
Germany tightens the leash on online cannabis sales
The German cabinet approved new rules banning mail-order cannabis and requiring in-person doctor visits after a surge in imports and prescriptions. The move aims to curb abuse, but it slams patients who rely on telehealth. Progress slows, bureaucracy wins.
Grade: D+
FINAL GRADE: C-
The Midwest taxed progress into retreat. The East Coast stumbled into court. The Northeast tried reform by committee. The Mid-Atlantic showed a little heart. Europe reminded everyone how to complicate a good idea. It was a week of motion without momentum.
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