Colorado Lawmakers Weigh Wholesale Marijuana Tax Overhaul
What's happening
Colorado lawmakers are considering House Bill 26 1077 to change how the state calculates its 15 percent wholesale excise tax by splitting average market rate categories for unprocessed marijuana into separate indoor and outdoor buckets, after businesses argued the current quarter by quarter median price system effectively taxes lower priced outdoor flower as if it were higher priced indoor product and can make transfers into extraction uneconomical.
Why it matters to you
This matters because any change to average market rate calculations directly affects operator margins, tax liabilities, and purchase volumes for cultivation, extraction, and retail supply chains. Cultivation input vendors, extraction equipment suppliers, and testing labs may see demand shift if outdoor and indoor production economics change and if vertically integrated operators adjust how much biomass they run through extraction to avoid tax drag. Finance, accounting, and compliance providers should also care because excise tax modeling, transfer pricing, and audit risk will change if the state creates new categories and new reporting expectations.
What's happening
The FDA faces a near term deadline to publish multiple cannabinoid lists and clarify what counts as a hemp product container under a law signed by President Trump, as Congress prepares to narrow federal hemp legality starting in November through a total THC and similar effects standard with per container limits and restrictions that stakeholders warn could disrupt consumable cannabinoids and even create manufacturing conflicts for common product formats.
Why it matters to you
Companies selling into hemp and cannabis adjacent channels should care because FDA definitions can quickly change which products are treated as lawful hemp versus illegal intoxicating cannabinoids, which drives retailer assortment, payment processing risk, and compliance workload. Packaging suppliers, contract manufacturers, testing labs, and track and trace or ERP providers are likely to be heavily impacted because the container definition and cannabinoid lists can reshape labeling, batch testing, and product design constraints. Banks, insurers, and logistics providers are exposed because inventory that becomes noncompliant can trigger account closures, coverage disputes, shipment refusals, and recall like reverse logistics costs.
What's happening
Ohio advocates have begun a referendum push after the attorney general approved petition language to repeal Senate Bill 56, a law set to take effect March 20 that bans intoxicating hemp products and tightens parts of the voter approved adult use marijuana framework by lowering THC caps for extracts and flower, restricting public use, and adding possession and transport rules, with the effort facing opposition from major cannabis groups while hemp farmers and retailers back the repeal attempt.
Why it matters to you
This matters to vendors because a repeal fight injects near term uncertainty into product legality, enforcement posture, and retail channel structure across both dispensaries and hemp retail. Payment providers, compliance software firms, and testing labs are most exposed because THC limits and hemp prohibitions change what can be sold, how it must be tested and labeled, and which merchants can be onboarded. Distributors and packaging manufacturers may see abrupt SKU churn if intoxicating hemp inventory is forced out of general retail or if adult use product formats change to meet new potency and packaging rules.
What's happening
West Virginia medical cannabis operators and allied industry leaders say the state is leaving significant revenue on the table by not legalizing adult use, estimating the illicit market at roughly $350 million to $500 million annually and arguing a taxed regulated market could generate up to $50 million a year while also reducing untested products, slowing patient leakage to neighboring states, and expanding in state hiring if demand grows.
Why it matters to you
Adjacent businesses should care because legalization discussions signal potential market expansion beyond the current medical footprint, which would change demand for cultivation capacity, retail buildouts, and compliance infrastructure. Staffing vendors, security providers, cash management services, and cultivation and extraction equipment suppliers are likely to feel impacts first because operators say they would need to scale workforce and production quickly if adult use arrives. Testing labs, packaging firms, and logistics providers also face opportunity because shifting demand from illicit to regulated channels increases required QA, labeling, and compliant distribution volume.
What's happening
A new independent economic analysis commissioned by Hawaiis Department of Health Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation reportedly finds strong utilization of the states medical cannabis program, signaling sustained patient driven demand even as the state evaluates program performance and related economic impacts.
Why it matters to you
Vendors should care because steady or growing medical utilization supports recurring demand for compliant cultivation, dispensing operations, and patient servicing workflows. Patient heavy programs tend to raise the importance of pharmacy like counseling models, product consistency, and documentation, which impacts POS systems, patient management software, and compliance and auditing services. If the state uses the analysis to justify program adjustments, labs, packaging, and logistics providers could see new requirements around testing cadence, labeling detail, and distribution controls.
What's happening
Texas hemp derived THC products such as gummies, drinks, and vapes have grown into a major statewide retail market that panelists said has outpaced the states original hemp rules, with ongoing political debate and proposed Department of State Health Services rule changes aimed at catching regulation up to intoxicating products that were not contemplated when hemp was legalized in 2019.
Why it matters to you
This matters because regulatory catch up can quickly change which hemp derived THC products are allowed, how they are tested, and where they can be sold, which directly impacts merchant onboarding, payment acceptance, and distribution planning. Testing labs, compliance consultancies, and manufacturers of beverages and inhalables are likely to be most affected because rule changes tend to target product definitions, potency thresholds, and quality controls. Packaging and labeling vendors and retail POS providers should also watch this closely because new rules often bring new label elements, age gating requirements, and traceability expectations across thousands of retailers.
What's happening
Wisconsin lawmakers advanced a GOP led medical marijuana bill out of the Senate Health Committee on a 4 to 1 vote, proposing a structured non smokable medical program with specified qualifying conditions, a regulated licensing framework for cultivation processing labs and dispensaries, pharmacist involvement and PDMP recording, and limits such as no home grow, while broader adult use legalization remains politically uncertain.
Why it matters to you
This matters because even a limited medical framework creates a new regulated buyer base for compliance vendors, lab testing providers, seed to sale technology, and pharmacy adjacent dispensing workflows. Equipment suppliers, facility builders, and security and surveillance vendors could see opportunity if licenses open for cultivation processing and retail and if local zoning constraints are preempted as described. Financial services and payroll and HR providers should care because medical only structures still require high compliance operations, controlled inventory, and employee screening, which can expand demand for specialized banking alternatives, accounting, and workforce compliance tools.