Michigan gubernatorial candidate John James intends to deal a victory to the state’s licensed cannabis operators, should he be elected in November.
The Republican nominee for governor unveiled his cannabis reform policy on Aug. 19, asserting that elected officials have a “responsibility to respect” the 56% of voters who passed an adult-use cannabis legalization measure in 2018.
That responsibility includes fair taxes for the regulated industry, real enforcement of the unregulated market and safer communities, mainly by keeping intoxicating products out of the hands of children, he said.
“Just this past week, Detroit police shut down a gas station selling marijuana, including to a minor, and seized nearly $400,000 and five firearms,” James said on social media. “This is the marijuana black market in action: unlicensed operators putting kids at risk while legal businesses play by the rules. As governor, we will enforce the law, shut these operations down, implement lower and fair taxes, and protect Michigan communities.”
The Metro Detroit News article he referenced reported that a Citgo gas station sold tobacco products to a minor (not cannabis), and that “a search of the gas station reportedly uncovered 252 pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes, 17 THC vape pens, $397,000 in cash and five firearms.”
Accompanying his comments on social media, James released his campaign’s policy plans for cannabis reform, including four key strategies:
- Repealing or sharply reducing the state’s 24% wholesale cannabis tax;
- Ending intoxicating product sales by unlicensed operators;
- Enforcing the 2018 law passed by voters by aggressively targeting unregulated activity while not interfering with state-licensed businesses; and
- Strengthening the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) through giving regulators the tools they need to hold unlicensed operators accountable while eliminating burdensome regulations for compliant operators.
“Michigan voters approved a legal, regulated cannabis market in 2018,” James said in his cannabis policy plan. “State government has a responsibility to respect that decision while promoting workplace and community safety, keeping intoxicating products out of the hands of children, protecting consumers and enforcing the law against those who refuse to follow it.”
In addition to the Metro Detroit article, the campaign referenced an Aug. 13 article in The Detroit News that reported on how emergency responders discovered 500 pounds of unregulated cannabis in the spring of 2025 in Washtenaw County. The article focused on how Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, a Democrat running to be Michigan’s next attorney general, did not charge anyone in connection with the discovery.
“What’s worse?” James asked. “Chinese-run black market operations have a foothold in Michigan. In 2025, roughly $10 million in marijuana was seized at an illicit grow operation in Lake County; all nine people arrested were born in China. Similar operations in Michigan and around the country have been linked to sophisticated Chinese organized crime networks that target states with lax or confusing marijuana laws and weak enforcement. As governor, we will end these illicit grow operations and cut off the [Chinese Communist Party’s] foothold in Michigan.”
The U.S. Department of Justice regularly focuses on Chinese nationals connected to criminal networks in cannabis-legalized states like California, Maine, Massachusetts and Oklahoma.
In Michigan, where cannabis prices are low and licensed dispensary numbers are high, the state’s average cannabis sales per capita are more than $300 – the highest in the nation – indicating that cannabis shoppers prefer regulated sources versus unregulated.
However, as the James campaign pointed to in the policy plan, the fear is that the state’s new 24% wholesale cannabis tax that went into effect on Jan. 1 will cause businesses to close and prices to rise, pushing consumers back into the unregulated space.
For example, the Higher Love Cannabis Co. announced earlier this month that it closed five of its nine dispensaries across the state’s Upper Peninsula in a decision company officials said was driven primarily by the mounting tax burden on Michigan’s adult-use cannabis industry.
The 24% wholesale tax, which Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pushed as a road improvement funding mechanism in the state’s budget bill, is in addition to the state’s 10% cannabis excise tax and 6% sales tax at retail.
“The new 24% wholesale tax (on top of the existing 10% excise plus 6% sales tax) drives up prices, gives illegal operators a competitive edge and has already fallen far short of revenue projections,” James said. “As governor, I will work to repeal or sharply reduce it.”
This campaign pledge from James comes as eight Michigan senators filed legislation in February to repeal the state’s 24% cannabis wholesale tax, and, more recently, as Michigan Rep. James DeSana, R-Carleton, introduced a similar bill this month to do the same.
Meanwhile, as the federal government’s forthcoming ban on intoxicating hemp products remains scheduled to take effect on Nov. 12, 2026, the gubernatorial candidate said he plans to continue a tight stance on these products in Michigan.
“Delta-8, THCA and synthetic cannabinoids must not be sold at gas stations or smoke shops without the same age limits, testing and labeling required of licensed cannabis,” James said. “Intoxicating products belong in the regulated market — not next to the candy bars.”
Under current Michigan law implemented in 2021, all THC products are under the Cannabis Regulatory Authority’s domain, meaning it’s unlawful to sell popular hemp-derived products, such as delta-8 THC edibles, without a state license.
James further indicated that, if elected, he’d be a tough-on-crime governor who goes after those who sell products to minors, evade taxes and divert cannabis products in an effort to protect consumers, promote workplace safety and improve public safety.
