Michigan’s governor signed two bills into law that will allow Native American tribes and the state to form compacts to regulate and tax marijuana. The legislation also permits tribal- and state-licensed operators to sell cannabis to one another.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 179 and SB 180 into law on Thursday, according to Michigan legislature records.
Senate Bills 179 and 180 would amend the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, which regulates the adult recreational marijuana market, to do all of the following:
• Allow the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) to enter into an agreement with an
Indian tribe regarding marijuana-related regulatory matters. (SB 180)
• Exempt sales of marijuana by tribal businesses located in Indian lands from the state’s 10% excise tax if certain conditions are met. (SB 180)
• Prohibit certain individuals from having a pecuniary interest in a tribal marijuana
business. (SB 180)
• Provide that transportation of marijuana by a licensee to or from a tribal marijuana
business is not unlawful. (SB 180)
• Allocate a portion of the unexpended balance of the Marihuana Regulation Fund to an Indian tribe for certain sales of marijuana attributable to a marijuana retailer or microbusiness located in that tribe’s Indian lands. (SB 179)
Cannabis Regulatory Agency would mean the Marijuana Regulatory Agency that was
renamed the Cannabis Regulatory Agency under Executive Order 2022-1.1
Senate Bill 180
The act now allows the CRA to enter into an agreement with an advisor or consultant as
necessary to adequately perform its duties.
The bill would additionally allow the CRA to enter into an agreement with an Indian tribe regarding marijuana-related regulatory issues that involve the interests of Michigan and the Indian tribe, including those related to the commercial growing, processing, sale, testing, transportation, and possession of marijuana.
Indian tribe would mean any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or
community of Indians which is recognized as eligible by the U.S. Secretary of the
Interior for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians, and is recognized as possessing powers of self government.
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2023-HLA-0179-C2EC9457
