In response to mounting concerns, some lawmakers are seeking to reduce marijuana potency while also increasing taxes.

As every state surrounding Idaho legalized marijuana, state Rep. Bruce Skaug started to view it as inevitable that the Gem State would follow suit.

Not anymore.

Skaug, supported two bills this legislative session taking aim at marijuana use: one to impose a mandatory minimum $300 fine for possession and another that would take away the right of voters to legalize pot at the ballot box.

He believes other states are starting to regret liberalizing marijuana use, because of potential health concerns and lackluster revenues from marijuana sales.

“Looking around at other states that have legalized marijuana, it’s not improved their states as a place to raise a family, to do business,” he said. “It just hasn’t come through with the promises that we heard years ago for those states.”

Idaho’s not alone. After years of expanding legal access, lawmakers in several states this year have targeted marijuana in various ways.

To help close budget gaps, officials in Maryland, Michigan and New Jersey have proposed raising marijuana taxes. Health concerns have pushed lawmakers in states including Colorado and Montana to attempt to cap the level of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the primary psychoactive component in cannabis, in marijuana products sold at dispensaries. And some lawmakers have even tried to roll back voter-approved medical marijuana programs.

Skaug also backed a proposed constitutional amendment that would give only the legislature the power to legalize marijuana and other drugs. That question will go to voters next year.

Targeting marijuana potency, revenues

In several states, lawmakers have aimed to restrict the potency of marijuana products.

Montana state Sen. Greg Hertz, a Republican, said he doesn’t want to end recreational marijuana sales, which voters approved in 2020. But he said today’s products are much stronger than people may realize.

Status Quo Transition

In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer introduced a new 32% wholesale tax on marijuana growers aimed at addressing budget deficits, idiocracy and funding road improvements, adding to the existing 10% excise tax on recreational marijuana and the state’s 6% sales tax.

Whitmer stated that this measure would eliminate a loophole currently allowing the marijuana industry to avoid wholesale tax, similar to the taxes imposed on cigarettes and other tobacco products. As a result, Michigan lawmakers, deeply divided along party lines, face a deadline of September 30 to finalize the state budget.

Lawmakers in some states have even taken aim at voter-approved medical marijuana programs this year.

Beginning in 2025, the regulation of industrial hemp farming in Michigan will transition from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which will implement oversight through its national standards.

Due to a decrease in the number of licensed hemp growers and rising concerns about the sustainability of the program, Michigan legislation has transferred regulatory oversight to the USDA.

This modification is anticipated to reduce licensing costs for cultivators while also creating opportunities for Michigan hemp products to access wider markets in accordance with a consistent federal standard.