Municipal leader and industry officials tell House panel proposed wholesale tax, enforcement are threatening Michigan cannabis businesses

LANSING — Witnesses at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing warned lawmakers that a proposed wholesale tax and aggressive enforcement are squeezing Michigan’s licensed cannabis businesses and risking a return to an illicit market.

Glenn Rowley, supervisor of Bangor Township, told the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Insurance and Financial Services that the township relied on cannabis-related revenue to avoid tapping rainy-day funds and to repair infrastructure. “Last year we received $756,972 as our share. The previous year, we received $886,295,” Rowley said. He described the industry’s local economic effects — rehabbing vacant buildings, rising property values and sponsorships for community programs — and urged lawmakers not to add new taxes or regulatory burdens: “Strangling the goose that lays the golden eggs is a terrible idea,” he said.

Denise Policella, partner at Omnis Law and founder of Cannabis Attorneys of Michigan, told the panel the licensed cannabis sector is “overly regulated and…