Less than 24 hours after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an $81 billion state spending plan into law, one of the largest industry groups representing cannabis businesses in the state filed a lawsuit hoping to stop one of its new taxes in its tracks.

Set to take effect on New Year’s Day, the budget added a 24% wholesale tax on marijuana, which lawmakers say will increase funding for roads. Lawmakers say the revenue expected from the new tax is $420 million.

However, on Tuesday, the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association filed the suit, arguing that the move was unconstitutional.

CBS News Detroit reached out to the Michigan Department of Treasury, which was named in the lawsuit, and is waiting to hear back.  

“We, in the cannabis industry, view it as kind of a Trojan horse that was put forth, I think, just days before the budget was to be passed,” said attorney Hassan Zaarour, who specializes in cannabis regulatory law.

While not directly involved in the lawsuit, Zaarour says his clients have been watching its progress closely.

Because the law came from a ballot proposal that voters approved back in 2018, the change requires a supermajority vote from the state legislature in order to pass, which the suit alleges it didn’t get.

“Instead of actually going and getting the 75% that was required to amend what the voters wanted, they just couched this 24% within a budget bill,” said Zaarour.

Zaarour says if the tax does go through, it could have major implications on more than just money.

“Ultimately, what I view happening is less people being willing to shop with these retailers, and not an actual increase in the tax revenue that the state is intending on getting through this,” said Zaarour.

Zaarour says that the hike may push some dispensaries to the brink, many of whom are already struggling with low retail prices and a crowded market.

• Marijuana
• Lawsuit
• Michigan