Michigan Court of Claims Judge Sima G. Patel this week denied a request by state attorneys to rehear a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the state’s new 24% cannabis wholesale tax, Michigan Advance reports.
The lawsuit, filed in October by the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, claims the wholesale tax is an unconstitutional update to the state’s voter-approved adult-use cannabis policy. Patel denied the plaintiffs’ request to block the January 1 rollout of the new tax, but is also choosing to let the lawsuit play out in the courts, despite the state’s motion to dismiss.
Patel wrote in her judgment on Monday that, “It is not certain on this record whether the 24% wholesale excise tax will impact prices to the extent purchasers will be driven to the illicit marijuana market,” and that “discovery is required” to determine how the new tax will impact the voter-approved cannabis reforms.