The Higher Love Marquette store is pictured. (Photo courtesy of Higher Love)

MARQUETTE — Higher Love, a Cannabis company with 10 dispensary locations to include cultivation and processing operations throughout the Upper Peninsula, has announced that it will be laying off 30% of its staff.

In October, as part of a deal to increase funding for Michigan roads, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Public Act 23 of 2025 into law, creating a new 24% wholesale excise tax on cannabis products. It is this public act that Higher Love blames for firing 30% of its staff.

“We built Higher Love from the ground up with a sustainable business model that was all about being good partners to our workers, our state and our customers,” said Steven Eckley, owner and CEO of Higher Love. “From day one, we’ve been proud to offer our employees wages and benefits well above both industry standards and statewide averages and be a part of creating stronger, more vibrant communities throughout Michigan.”

The new tax adds on to an existing 10% cannabis excise tax at retail and 6% sales tax. All cannabis outlets across the state are impacted.

“Unfortunately, lawmakers inside our state capitol chose to turn their backs on the jobs and economic growth we were creating here,” said Eckley. “Instead they enacted a completely unsustainable new tax on the cannabis industry that left us with no choice but to drastically reduce the number of good-paying jobs with benefits we are able to provide our workers and their families. This isn’t just a sad day for Higher Love, it’s a sad day for families and small businesses across Michigan being harmed by short-sighted lawmakers.”

Higher Love has said that if the Michigan government continues this behavior, it will be moving states.

“We never asked for the government’s help when we started Higher Love, we just needed reliability from them to not turn our business model upside-down overnight, but that’s exactly what they did. They’re taking away quality jobs from communities throughout Michigan in the process,” added Eckley. “If Michigan is going to prove itself to be an unfriendly partner to small businesses like ours, then we’ll have no choice but to invest and create these same high-paying jobs elsewhere.”

Antonio Anderson can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. His email address is aanderson@miningjournal.net.