5 quick hits of cannabis news from across Michigan

By Kyle Kaminski

October 14, 2025

MICHIGAN—It’s getting chilly out there, but Michigan’s cannabis headlines are still on fire. A new wholesale tax is still rattling dispensaries, sales are sliding, Cookies is back on the green scene, and the Michigan state police just chopped down another black market grow operation.

Here are five quick hits to keep you caught up:

ROAD RAGE: Michigan dispensaries and cultivators are still up in arms over the state’s newly approved 24% wholesale tax on weed. But if a lawsuit challenging the tax succeeds, lawmakers say they’ll have to find $420 million a year somewhere else—or start making deep budget cuts.

COOKIE COMEBACK: The iconic California brand Cookies is relaunching its Michigan operations with a flashy new dispensary that opened this week in New Buffalo.

SALES SLIDE: Michigan’s weed sales took a dip last month—down 11% from August and nearly 6% from last year. It’s one of the sharpest month-to-month drops this year and yet another clean sign that supply is still dramatically outpacing demand across the state.

LIMA LIGHTS UP: Voters in Lima Township will decide in November whether to allow marijuana businesses to set up shop in town. A new ballot proposal would force local officials to rewrite their ban and allow up to two of each license type—from retailers to growers to transporters. And if it passes, the small rural community could see its first legal dispensaries next year.

BLACK MARKET BUST: Michigan State Police say a months-long investigation led them to two illegal grow operations in Isabella and Midland counties, where troopers seized more than 330 plants, a stash of guns, and several pounds of harvested weed. Both operations were reportedly powered by stolen electricity, with meters rigged to hide the theft. Two suspects now face a laundry list of felony charges, including running a criminal enterprise and defrauding a utility.

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Author

Kyle Kaminski

Kyle Kaminski is an award-winning investigative journalist with more than a decade of experience covering news across Michigan. Prior to joining The ‘Gander, Kyle worked as the managing editor at City Pulse in Lansing and as a reporter for the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

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CATEGORIES: CANNABIS

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