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VOL. 46 | NO. 22 | AUGUST 19-SEPTEMBER 1, 2026
News & Views
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NEWS & VIEWS Feedback Readers respond to our examination of the lies, xenophobia, and hatred behind the attacks targeting U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive and Michigan-born son of Egyptian immigrants. “That’s what America unfortunately is built on. Thievery, fear and loathing towards what it deems as others. As long as you control and buy the media, you believe you own the narrative on who’s acceptable and who’s not.” – @ctonederfulmister78, Instagram “They can’t attack his policies. All they have is a smear campaign.” – sicks_sicks_sicks, Instagram
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“It’s definitely brought the ugly bigots to the top. I’ve never in my life seen this level of hate towards any group of people and it’s frightening.” – Monica Cheick, Facebook “I have faith in Michiganders to understand the difference between facts, fear-mongering and propaganda.” – @wiseguywiseguy1, X “And people say America isn’t a bigoted country. The normalization of this is despicable.” – @RegicideGreg, X “Islam is not really compatible with our culture.” – ultrablazin, Instagram Have an opinion? Sound off: tips@detroitmetrotimes.com.
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K C A J O I D U A MUSIC FEST ROIT’S BRINGS DET UNDER UND UNDERGRO OF ONE RO
op, will mix hip-h l a iv st fe w e The n hetto tech, nic music, g R&B, electro Detroit isual art, and v y, tr e o p s, DJ ctory e Lincoln Fa nightlife at th EAVLING
BY STEVE N
Detroit rapper GT is co-headlining the AudioJack Music Fest.
D
etroit’s independent music scenes don’t always share the same spaces. Hip-hop has its clubs and showcases. House, techno, and ghetto tech have their own parties. R&B artists, DJs, poets, and visual artists often operate in different circles. AudioJack Music Fest wants to bring those scenes in Detroit’s creative underground together for a 13-hour event that ends at 4 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30. The idea is to celebrate independent music, art, and Detroit culture. The inaugural festival, presented by the Detroit nonprofit We Are Culture Creators in partnership with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, takes over the Lincoln Factory on Saturday, Aug. 29, with four stages and more than 50 artists spanning music, poetry, visual art, and nightlife. Headliners JMSN and Detroit rapper GT sit at the top of a lineup that also includes Nasaan, Taylor Bentley, R&B singer Nylon Keies, and electronic trio HiTech Detroit, along with dozens of emerging performers and DJs. But the appeal of AudioJack may be less about any one performer than the combination of scenes that rarely appear on the same bill.
Organizers say the festival will move between hip-hop, R&B, house, techno, Afrobeat, Latin music, ghetto tech, and other global sounds, with spoken word, visual artists, immersive installations, food vendors, and other creative programming mixed in. AudioJack brings together a side of Detroit’s creative scene that often operates outside major venues, labels, galleries, and cultural institutions, where some of the city’s most interesting work is taking place. “AudioJack has always been about breaking down barriers between artists and audiences,” Michael Reyes, co-founder of We Are Culture Creators, said in a statement. “Bringing JMSN together with artists like GT, Nasaan, Taylor Bentley and so many emerging voices reflects exactly what we’re building, a space where the future of music can exist alongside the creative energy Detroit is known for. We want people to discover something here.” JMSN, born Christian Berishaj, grew up in the Detroit area and has built an international following without abandoning his independent roots. The singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist operates his own label, White Room Records, and works
GT
in a space that moves freely between R&B and soul. GT represents another side of Detroit’s independent music culture. A fixture in the city’s rap scene, he has built his following around a distinctly Detroit sound and delivery. Nasaan, meanwhile, brings together influences from Detroit and Atlanta. The Detroit-born, Atlanta-raised rapper and producer is the son of late D12 rapper Proof but has built his own identity through releases including “Kiss of Karma” and “Error 404.” Taylor Bentley blurs even more boundaries. The Detroit-born rapper, producer, and visual artist, who calls herself the “Michigan Missy,” mixes experimental production with sharp lyricism while working across music and visual art. Nylon Keies brings R&B to the lineup. The Michigan singer and songwriter was named Artist of the Year at HOT 107.5 WGPR’s Industry Music Showcase in 2026 and also runs the nonprofit Nylon Keies Cares. HiTech Detroit pushes the festival further into the city’s electronic underground, where ghetto tech, techno, house, and rap have increasingly bled into one another.
AudioJack is also designed to keep moving after the traditional concert portion of the night winds down. A latenight section called “The Afters” will shift the Lincoln Factory toward a club atmosphere built around DJs playing house, techno, hip-hop, R&B, Afrobeat, ghetto tech, and global sounds into the early morning. We Are Culture Creators describes AudioJack as more than a festival. The Detroit-based nonprofit says the event is intended to connect established performers with emerging artists while giving independent creatives access to new audiences and collaborators. The organization says the festival will also include spoken-word and poetry performances, live visual artists, immersive installations, community activations, local food and beverage vendors, and late-night dance experiences. AudioJack Music Fest takes place Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Lincoln Factory in Detroit. Tickets are on sale now, with additional artists, special guests, and festival programming expected to be announced before the event. For lineup announcements, festival updates, and ticket information, follow @weareculturecreators on Instagram.
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CAMERON MCCOOL
orn Christian Berishaj, the Eastpointe native has just come off a 20-city-plus tour behind his ninth and critically acclaimed album, “...it’s only about u if you think it is.” Because of his use of throwback grunge-isms and guitar riffs, “...it’s only about u if you think it is” is a sharp pivot from JMSN’s previous bodies of work. JMSN says the pivot was intentional. “It’s where it [the music] takes me, but also it’s always a conscious pivot. And I always feel like every album I put out is a pivot. And if it’s like the last one, then, you know, that’s weird,” he says. JMSN’s origin story is made up of equal parts magic and rebellion. As a teen, he was a gifted singer who knew his way around the guitar, drums, and piano. He spent time on both Atlantic Records and Universal Motown right after graduation from South Lake High School in St. Clair Shores. But big labels with big agendas proved to be a bad match, so he shifted to the indie route, where he was able to collaborate with hip-hop all-stars Ab-Soul and Kendrick Lamar. By 2012, he had released his debut album, “Priscilla,” which garnered him comparisons to everybody from Frank Ocean to the Weeknd. His biggest ascent came after the release of his 2023 album, “Soft Spot.” The single “Love Me,” a gospel-fused R&B anthem, was an immediate fan favorite
but found its way into mainstream culture when social media users paired the track with amusing parodies of Drake’s bougie hip-hop monologues between the song’s hooks. The viral trend gave him an uptick in streams, but it wasn’t the only time the crooner would go viral. The album’s title track, “Soft Spot,” sent social media into a frenzy as video clips of JMSN moving and grooving with a cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth went viral. JMSN admits he’s not known for being a social media trendsetter, but he did enjoy the new listeners who were introduced to his work. “It’s good, you know? That’s all you want is to get eyes on what you’re doing. That’s the whole thing. The whole idea of marketing a record and pushing it is to get it seen and heard. And that’s it, however that happens is out of your control, but you try every way you can for that to happen,” he says. The success of Soft Spot made the sonic shift on ...it’s only about u if you think it is even more striking. From the opening song, “Blow the Spot Up,” to “Goodbye,” the album is full of raw and rugged rock songs filled with emotion and rage. In the video for “Click Bait,” he lies on a stage covered by an army of ants singing, “Put some shovels in the rental car/Music to drown out the screams/ Dig a hole in the backyard/Make sure it’s seven feet deep/Fill it up with popstars/ Throw in the good bad seeds.”
Like his other albums, “...it’s only about u if you think it is” forces you to meet him where he’s at, not where you think he should be. JMSN does not let analytics or trends dictate his musical direction. He uses his heart as a compass to guide him into uncharted waters with equal amounts of inspiration and love. “It’s about what can I do that I haven’t done before? And yeah, maybe it’s in the same world as something I’ve done before, but it doesn’t feel the same to me. I don’t think ‘Soft Spot’ was like any other album I made. And I don’t think this new album is like any other album I’ve made,” he says. “Maybe my first two albums were sort of similar, but even after that, I went to “The Blue Album,” which was way different than anything that was on either of those albums completely.” JMSN says being an independent artist is one of the biggest factors in his ability to record and release whatever style of music he wants. He doesn’t have to get budgets approved or songs cleared. He still receives a hefty amount of interest from labels, but the stipulations are never even worth considering. “They do the thing where they pressure you like, ‘We’ll take this off the table if you take too long.’ So I’m like, then this is just a moment for you but I’m trying to build a career,” he says. Despite his reputation for being able to be all things to all people, JMSN doesn’t see himself as an outlier. Pitchfork referred to him as an R&B shapeshifter. History is full of musical virtuosos who have moved from one genre to another. Beck jumped between hip-
hop and alternative pop, Prince combined a rock-god aura with pop and R&B, Outkast released six albums that were all sonically distinct, and Stevie Wonder constantly explored multiple genres. “He (Stevie Wonder) was way past any genre. He does everything. I mean, one of my favorite songs of his is, ‘I ain’t gonna stand for it.’ It’s a country song, it’s amazing,” he adds. JMSN has two more videos he plans to release for “...it’s only about u if you think it is,” but he’s already started mapping out the direction and music for his 10th album. “I have a couple different things that I’m working on. … The hard part is finishing the stuff and putting it out. But the exciting part is making it and making something new,” he says. When asked what fans can expect from his performance, he pauses and chuckles as he struggles to come up with words. “Oh shit. I don’t know. You could expect me to be there and play some songs,” he says through a laugh. “It’s hard to describe something that I’ve never been in the audience to see.” AudioJack Music Fest takes over the Lincoln Factory from 3 p.m. to 4 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, with more than 50 artists performing across four stages. In addition to JMSN, the lineup includes Detroit rapper GT, Nasaan, Taylor Bentley, Nylon Keies, DJs, spoken-word performers, and visual artists. Tickets are on sale now through Eventbrite, with festival updates and lineup announcements available from We Are Culture Creators on Instagram at @weareculturecreators.
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ummer may be winding down, but festival season in metro Detroit is nowhere close to over. The next few months are packed with some of the region’s biggest annual events, from the Detroit Jazz Festival and Dally in the Alley to the Michigan Renaissance Festival, Arts, Beats & Eats, and Youmacon. There are also festivals devoted to bourbon, beer, dance, independent art, and the simple pleasure of wandering around Ferndale with a drink in your hand. Here are some of the festivals worth putting on your calendar through the end of October.
DETROIT JAZZ FESTIVAL
Friday, Sept. 4-Monday, Sept. 7 One of Detroit’s signature and most beloved events returns Labor Day weekend, bringing four days of free jazz to downtown Detroit. The 47th Detroit Jazz Festival will have a somewhat different footprint this year, with its three main stages consolidated at Hart Plaza. Additional performances will take place at the Detroit Jazz Hall inside Wayne State University’s Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center. The lineup includes Ron Carter, Bob James, Ravi Coltrane, Cindy Blackman Santana, Kurt Elling with Yellowjackets, Joey Alexander, and artist-in-residence Joe Lovano. And, as always, admission is free. That’s part of what has made the festival such an enduring Detroit institution: You can wander into Hart Plaza, hear internationally known jazz musicians, discover someone you’ve never heard before, and spend nothing to get through the gate.
DETROIT BOURBON & BLUES FESTIVAL
Sunday, Aug. 23 Bourbon and blues make a pretty natural pairing, and both take over Shed 5 at Eastern Market for the fourth annual Detroit Bourbon & Blues Festival. The festival features tastings of American-made bourbon and whiskey, alongside live blues, food trucks, local vendors, and whiskey-related merchandise. There are also cocktail-making classes. The festival runs from noon-7 p.m., with general admission starting at $45.
Detroit Jazz Festival brings four day of free jazz to downtown.
MICHIGAN RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL
Weekends Aug. 22-Oct. 4, plus Labor Day and Oct. 2 For seven weekends, a patch of Holly transforms into a 16th-century village populated by knights, jesters, musicians, merchants, and thousands of visitors who need remarkably little encouragement to dress like medieval royalty. The Michigan Renaissance Festival returns for its 47th year with 17 stages of entertainment, more than 150 artisans, armored jousting, magicians, musicians, food, ale, and themed weekends. Special events include pub crawls, the Feast of Fantasy, joust brunches, and a masquerade ball. The festival runs from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. on weekends through Oct. 4, with additional dates on Labor Day and Friday, Oct. 2.
AUDIOJACK MUSIC FEST
Saturday, Aug. 29-Sunday, Aug. 30 Detroit’s festival calendar has plenty of massive events, but there’s nothing quite like AudioJack Music Fest. The inaugural AudioJack Music Fest takes over the Lincoln Factory for an all-day and late-night celebration of Detroit’s creative scene. Running from
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Aug. 29 until 4 a.m. Aug. 30, the event brings together live music, DJs, visual artists, poets, chefs, and other performers who often move in different circles. Rather than building the festival around one genre or scene, AudioJack is designed as a gathering place for Detroit’s independent culture, with hip-hop, R&B, electronic music, ghetto tech, spoken word, visual art, and nightlife sharing the same bill. The result is a sprawling celebration of the artists and creatives who help shape Detroit’s culture outside of the city’s biggest stages and institutions.
MICHIGAN STATE FAIR
Thursday, Sept. 3-Monday, Sept. 7 The Michigan State Fair returns to the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi over Labor Day weekend with the familiar mix of livestock, carnival rides, fair food, entertainment, and agricultural exhibits. The five-day fair also includes monster truck shows, a demolition derby, contests, home arts displays, and the traditional butter cow. Basic admission is $10, while a $42 ticket includes admission, unlimited carnival rides, and monster truck shows. The fair runs Sept. 3-7.
COURTESY OF DETROIT JAZZ FESTIVAL
ARTS, BEATS & EATS
Friday, Sept. 4-Monday, Sept. 7 If jazz isn’t enough entertainment for one Labor Day weekend, Royal Oak will once again shut down much of downtown for Arts, Beats & Eats. The four-day festival features a juried art fair, a sprawling assortment of food, and roughly 200 musical acts. Artists from across the country will line Washington Street, while multiple stages will host music and other performances throughout downtown. The festival runs Sept. 4-7, with festivities continuing until 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday and ending at 9 p.m. Monday.
HAMTRAMCK LABOR DAY FESTIVAL
Saturday, Sept. 5-Monday, Sept. 7 Few metro Detroit festivals have quite the same eclectic personality as Hamtramck’s annual Labor Day bash. Now in its 46th year, the free festival takes over Joseph Campau with two stages of music, carnival rides, food, wrestling, and the city’s wonderfully ridiculous yacht races, in which homemade wheeled “boats” race down the street rather than anywhere near actual water. The weekend concludes Monday
with the Hamtramck Labor Day Parade. The festival runs from noon-10 p.m. each day, making it a good option for anyone who prefers their Labor Day festivities a little weirder.
DALLY IN THE ALLEY
Saturday, Sept. 12 For one day every September, the streets and alleys of the Cass Corridor turn into one of Detroit’s most beloved neighborhood festivals. Dally in the Alley brings multiple stages of music together with poetry, live art, food, beer, local vendors, and the kind of wonderfully crowded street scene that has kept people coming back for decades. Unlike many increasingly corporate summer festivals, Dally still feels distinctly local. The festival runs from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sept. 12 and remains free.
EASTERN MARKET AFTER DARK
Thursday, Sept. 17 Eastern Market looks different after dark, particularly on one night every September when artists, designers, musicians, food vendors, and thousands of visitors take over the district. Eastern Market After Dark is the signature event of Detroit Month of Design, spreading from Shed 2 into streets, storefronts, and other corners of the neighborhood. This year’s event features more than 120 designers, makers, and creators in Shed 2 alone, along with public art, live music, food, installations, Murals in the Market, a Slow Roll bike tour, and activities along the Dequindre Cut. The free, all-ages event runs from 6-11 p.m. Last year’s event drew more than 33,000 people, according to organizers.
DANCE CITY FESTIVAL
Friday, Sept. 18-Sunday, Sept. 20 Dance City Festival brings dancers and choreographers from Detroit and across the country for three days of performances, workshops, and classes. Now in its 14th year in Detroit, the festival is centered at the Detroit Institute of Arts and showcases local, national, and international performers across a wide range of dance styles. Its choreographers showcase takes place at the Detroit Film Theatre, while performances will also unfold inside the DIA’s Rivera Court. The weekend concludes with master classes at Wayne State University covering ballet, contemporary dance, and partnering.
DIY STREET FAIR
Friday, Sept. 25-Sunday, Sept. 27 The DIY Street Fair returns to Ferndale with a weekend devoted to the artists, musicians, makers, restaurants, brewers, and small businesses that give
the event its name. Rather than focusing on traditional fine art, DIY celebrates independent creators and businesses with a do-ityourself sensibility. Expect handmade goods, local bands, food, beer, and plenty of opportunities to buy things directly from the people who made them. The festival also includes a youth artist market outside the Ferndale library. And if that’s not enough art for one weekend, there’s another festival directly across Woodward.
FUNKY FERNDALE ART FAIR
Friday, Sept. 25-Sunday, Sept. 27 While DIY takes over one side of downtown Ferndale, the Funky Ferndale Art Fair fills Nine Mile west of Woodward with more than 140 juried artists and authors. The free festival leans toward the unconventional, which shouldn’t come as a surprise from an art fair that describes itself as “twice as funky as the average fine art fair.” Along with art for sale, this year’s activities include hands-on art projects and appearances by the giant FerndAlien puppet. Having both festivals on the same weekend essentially turns downtown Ferndale into one enormous art, music, food, and drinking excursion. The Funky Ferndale Art Fair runs 5-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
DETROIT HARVEST FEST
Saturday, Oct. 3-Sunday, Oct. 4 Detroit Harvest Fest has a new home this year at Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park, giving the city’s newest riverfront park its first taste of one of Detroit’s biggest fall traditions. The two-day festival features more than 30 food trucks, live entertainment, local vendors, trick-or-treating, and fall activities for children. Adults get their own attractions, including bars and other entertainment spread throughout the park. Harvest Fest runs from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. both days. Advance tickets are $5, while children 3 and younger, adults 65 and older, and active-duty military members with identification get in free.
DETROIT FALL BEER FESTIVAL
Saturday, Oct. 24 By late October, drinking beer outside in Detroit becomes a more weather-dependent proposition. Fortunately, that has never stopped the Michigan Brewers Guild. The 17th annual Detroit Fall Beer Festival returns to Eastern Market for one of the state’s largest gatherings devoted entirely to Michigan beer. Breweries from across the state pour samples while local musicians perform, food is
available from Detroit-area vendors, and live wrestling provides an appropriately strange diversion from all that beer. General admission runs from 1-6 p.m., with early admission beginning at noon for Michigan Brewers Guild enthusiast members and VIP ticket holders. Tickets start at $60 in advance, and everyone entering the festival must be 21 or older.
YOUMACON
Thursday, Oct. 29-Sunday, Nov. 1 Festival season ends on an appropriately colorful note when Youmacon takes over Huntington Place on Halloween weekend. Detroit’s massive anime convention is four days of cosplay, gaming, anime, music, vendors, panels, competitions, and late-night parties. The convention’s gaming areas alone include 27,000 square feet devoted to console and arcade games and another 13,000 square feet for tabletop gaming, while the marketplace and Artist Alley span about 150,000 square feet with more than 400 booths and tables. This year’s theme is “Spirit & Shadows,” which should fit particularly well with a convention that runs through Halloween. There will also be cosplay competitions, concerts, DJ sets, karaoke, Idolfest, a charity ball, and Youmacon’s Maid Café.
ARMADA FAIR
Monday, Aug. 17-Sunday, Aug. 23 The Armada Fair returns for its 154th year with a full week of carnival rides, livestock shows, demolition derbies, monster trucks, live music, and the kind of fried food that makes county fairs worth the drive. The agricultural fair at the Armada Fairgrounds also features horse, poultry, sheep, and other livestock competitions, along with vendors, exhibits, a rodeo, tractor and truck pulls, and nightly entertainment. This year’s grandstand schedule includes monster trucks on Aug. 18, a demolition derby Aug. 19, a figure-eight bump-and-run Aug. 20, a rodeo Aug. 21, and tractor and truck pulls over the weekend. Country singer Kameron Marlowe headlines opening night on Aug. 17. General admission is $10 for people 13 and older, $5 for ages 10-12, and free for children 9 and younger. Parking is $5 per day. The fair runs Aug. 17-23 at the Armada Fairgrounds, 74280 Fair St. in Armada.
SUMMER BLISS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL
Friday, Aug. 21-Saturday, Aug. 22 Summer Bliss Music & Arts Festival returns to Detroit for two days of electronic music, live art, local vendors, and other interactive experiences at the Tangent Gallery. The independent festival was found-
ed by Detroit promoter Keonte “Key” Mitchell and has grown from a relatively small gathering into a larger showcase for local and national DJs, visual artists, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. This year’s festival includes multiple stages of house and techno, live painters and art installations, a silent disco, food trucks, workshops, wellness activities, and an artisan marketplace. Organizers say the emphasis remains on Detroit’s creative community. Artists and makers are incorporated throughout the festival grounds, while local food, fashion, wellness, and other vendors will set up alongside the music programming. The festival also plans to donate to Boredom Fighters, a nonprofit focused on youth and creative engagement, according to organizers. Summer Bliss started as a grassroots event without much of a blueprint. The festival has since grown to a team of roughly 20 to 25 people and is putting more emphasis on art, wellness, local culture, and community as it expands. The festival takes place Aug. 21-22 at Tangent Gallery, 715 E. Milwaukee St. in Detroit. Tickets are available through the Summer Bliss website: summerblissfestival.com.
DEVIL’S NIGHT FILM FESTIVAL
Wednesday, Oct. 28-Friday, Oct. 30 Detroit’s infamous Devil’s Night gets a much more cinematic treatment with a three-night festival devoted to horror, experimental film, live performances, and immersive art. The Devil’s Night Film Festival mixes horror, avant-garde, art-house, and experimental cinema with live music, visual performances, and other elements designed to spill beyond the screen. Each night has its own theme, beginning Oct. 28 with “The First Reveal,” a fundraiser for the historic Senate Theater. The programming gets stranger from there. On Oct. 29, the festival’s “Blood & Black Velvet” night includes Muslim horror shorts presented by University of Michigan Islamic Studies, a collection of locally made shorts under the banner “Detroit Unearthed,” performances, and appearances by visual and performance artists. Costumes are mandatory that night. The festival closes Oct. 30 with “Nocturnal Rituals,” featuring Bauhaus co-founder David J performing a live score to a cult film from the Severin Films archive, along with a horror book club session and Q&A with David J. Electronic artist QUEENFX and other performers are also part of the night. The festival is operated by Hawk Media LLC in partnership with ethno-emergents films. Tickets and additional information are available at devilsnight.org.
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WEED
Michigan dispensaries are struggling after the state imposed a 24% wholesale tax.
STEVE NEAVLING
Michigan lawmakers want to repeal the 24% cannabis tax, but don’t hold your breath Legislators in both chambers are targeting the tax as cannabis sales fall and businesses close By Steve Neavling Lawmakers in both chambers of the Michigan Legislature are now trying to repeal the state’s controversial 24% wholesale cannabis tax as marijuana sales decline, businesses close, and the industry faces growing financial strain. But cannabis consumers and businesses hoping for relief may want to temper their expectations. A bipartisan Senate bill introduced in February has languished for nearly six months without a hearing, while a separate House bill introduced last month has only one sponsor. House Bill 6224, introduced on July 29 by Rep. James DeSana, R-Carleton, would repeal the Comprehensive Road Funding Tax Act, the law that imposed the wholesale tax on recreational cannabis beginning Jan. 1. The bill was referred to the House Appropriations Committee. DeSana is currently the only sponsor of the bill. His proposal is essentially identical to a bipartisan Senate bill introduced Feb. 26 by Sen. Jonathan Lindsey, R-Coldwa-
ter. Senate Bill 810 would also repeal the entire Comprehensive Road Funding Tax Act. Lindsey’s bill has seven co-sponsors from both parties, including Republican Sens. Jon Bumstead, Roger Hauck, Joseph Bellino Jr., and Jim Runestad, and Democratic Sens. Jeff Irwin, Rosemary Bayer, and Sylvia Santana. Despite that bipartisan support, the legislation has gone nowhere since being referred to the Senate Government Operations Committee on Feb. 26. The committee hasn’t held a hearing on the bill. The two proposals mean lawmakers in both chambers have introduced legislation to eliminate a tax that cannabis operators warned would accelerate an already painful contraction in Michigan’s marijuana industry. But neither proposal has shown much momentum so far. The tax applies to the first sale or transfer of recreational marijuana from a grower or processor to a retailer. Although wholesalers are legally responsible for paying it, state guidance allows
them to pass the expense on to retailers. Cannabis consumers also pay a 10% excise tax and 6% sales tax at checkout. The push for repeal comes as the financial problems facing Michigan’s cannabis industry become increasingly severe. Earlier this week, Higher Love Cannabis Co., one of the Upper Peninsula’s largest dispensary chains, announced it was closing five of its nine stores, blaming the state’s new wholesale tax and other economic pressures. The company shuttered locations in Crystal Falls, Escanaba, Houghton, Munising, and Ontonagon while keeping four stores open. The closures came amid a broader downturn that began before the wholesale tax but has intensified since it took effect. Michigan dispensaries sold about $1.48 billion worth of recreational cannabis during the first six months of 2026, down from $1.57 billion during the same period last year and $1.62 billion in 2024. Sales fell about $83 million, or
5.3%, compared with the first half of 2025. For years, Michigan’s cannabis market expanded rapidly as prices fell and businesses opened across the state. But oversupply eventually pushed prices so low that many growers and retailers were operating on thin margins even before lawmakers approved the additional tax. The 24% levy was adopted last year as part of a broader road-funding agreement and was expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually for roads and bridges. DeSana was among the House Republicans who voted against the tax when lawmakers approved it. The tax took effect Jan. 1, despite fierce opposition from cannabis businesses and advocates, who argued that lawmakers were placing an unusually heavy burden on an industry already contending with falling prices and shrinking margins. The Treasury projected in March that the wholesale tax would generate
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about $315 million during the 2026 fiscal year, when it’s in effect for nine months, followed by $418 million in fiscal 2027 and $429 million in fiscal 2028. Early collections have raised questions about whether the tax will meet those expectations. About $34 million was collected after the first quarterly payment period, well below the roughly $105 million per quarter that would be needed, on average, to reach the $315 million fiscal-year projection. Regardless of the final revenue numbers, cannabis operators say the tax is adding pressure to a market that has already lost businesses and jobs. Higher Love said this week that the additional tax burden had become increasingly difficult to absorb, particularly for stores serving smaller communities in the U.P. Its decision to close five stores offered one of the clearest examples yet of the problems marijuana businesses warned about before the tax took effect. Both repeal bills would eliminate the wholesale tax entirely rather than reduce the rate. For now, however, repeal remains far from certain. The Senate proposal has collected dust since February, despite bipartisan support, and DeSana’s House bill has yet to attract a co-sponsor.
Dispensary chain blames Michigan’s 24% cannabis tax as it closes five weed stores By Steve Neavling Just eight months into Michigan’s new 24% wholesale cannabis tax, one of the Upper Peninsula’s largest dispensary chains is closing more than half of its locations, blaming a “mounting tax burden” that has made an already difficult market increasingly unsustainable. Higher Love Cannabis Co. announced Monday that it is suspending operations at five of its nine dispensaries in the U.P. The company said the decision was driven by the new wholesale tax and other pressures squeezing Michigan’s struggling cannabis industry. The locations in Crystal Falls, Escanaba, Houghton, Munising, and Ontonagon have closed. Higher Love will continue operating dispensaries in Ironwood, Marquette, Menominee, and Norway. In August, Metro Times named Higher Love’s Munising location as one of the best dispensaries worth a road trip. The closures come after the state began imposing a 24% tax on certain wholesale marijuana sales and transfers on Jan. 1. The tax arrived as cannabis businesses
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were already contending with oversupply, falling prices, declining sales, and increasingly thin profit margins. “While these taxes apply at different stages of the supply chain and do not constitute a single combined tax rate, their collective impact has created an increasingly unsustainable operating environment - particularly for compliant businesses serving smaller and rural communities,” Higher Love said in a news release. Cannabis consumers already pay a 10% excise tax and 6% sales tax at checkout. The wholesale tax is imposed when cannabis is first sold or transferred from a licensed grower to a dispensary. Although growers are responsible for paying it, the added expense can travel down the supply chain to retailers and consumers. Higher Love said the tax has added another significant expense at a time when many cannabis companies are consolidating, closing facilities, and eliminating jobs. “The added tax burden has further strained the supply chain and made it increasingly difficult for responsible operators to remain viable,” the company said. The announcement comes amid warnings from cannabis industry experts who say the tax is accelerating a downturn that began before it took effect. Hirsh Jain, founder of Los Angeles-based cannabis consulting firm
Ananda Strategy and an instructor at Oaksterdam University, told Metro Times earlier this month that thousands of cannabis jobs have already disappeared in Michigan this year. “There is a long list of companies that have gone out of business, and many cited the wholesale tax,” Jain said. Michigan’s recreational cannabis sales fell to about $1.48 billion during the first six months of 2026, down from $1.57 billion during the same period last year and $1.62 billion in 2024. That represents a decline of about $83 million, or 5.3%, from the first half of 2025. The industry was already struggling before the wholesale tax took effect. Michigan has produced more cannabis than its legal market can absorb, pushing prices down and forcing businesses to operate on increasingly narrow margins. But Jain said the new tax has made matters worse. “The wholesale tax has been negative for sales and jobs,” Jain said. Higher Love said its four remaining stores will serve as the foundation for the company going forward and joined other cannabis businesses in calling for changes to state policy. “Higher Love joins industry leaders in calling for balanced policies that protect consumers while allowing businesses to retain employees, serve their communities and build a sustainable future,” the company said.
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CULTURE Savage Love
Hang On Snoopy by Dan Savage
Q: I’m a 47-year-old divorced dad. Nine
months ago, I met a 26-year-old woman. Things have been great except for one thing: My girlfriend won’t give me access to her phone. When we met, I explained that I have trust issues due to the actions of my ex-wife (multiple infidelities, lies, gaslighting), and that I couldn’t be in a relationship with someone who hid things from me. After three months, I shared my phone’s passcode with her because I have nothing to hide. I expected her to do the same, but she said she wasn’t ready. At this stage we had already said “I love you” to each other and we were discussing moving in together and her first meeting with my kid. I don’t understand how she could be ready for those steps but not for the very first step I discussed with her when we met. I finally checked her phone using the passcode I’d watched her enter many times. I didn’t find evidence of cheating, but I did find a group chat with her friends where they discussed my wish to have her passcode. Her friends described me as “controlling” and urged her to break up with me. (One said I wasn’t attractive enough to be this controlling.) Not once did my girlfriend tell her friends why I needed to have access to her phone: my hugely traumatic divorce. She also never said that I had disclosed this as a condition of getting serious when we first met. I confronted her, and now she’s furious with me for invading her privacy. For my own part, I’m furious that she didn’t make any effort to defend me to her friends. She has threatened to end our relationship. All I wanted from her was the same degree of transparency I had already given her myself. —Privacy And Sexual Security
A: I don’t wanna pour poison in your
ear — I don’t wanna make you any more paranoid than you already are — but you do realize people managed to hide things from their partners (debts, affairs, second families) before smartphones came along, right? So, while having access to your (next) girlfriend’s phone might make it harder for her to cheat on you, it’s not gonna infidelity-proof your (next) relationship. People can have affairs without creating digital trails (affairs can be analogue), PASS, and they can keep a burner phone at work. And while you’re free to ask your (next) girlfriend to surrender her
privacy because your (last) wife cheated on you, most women will — quite rightly — regard that demand as a red flag, and very few will forgive you and take you back (much less see you as the victim) if you violate their privacy the way you violated your current girlfriend’s privacy. I get it: Your ex-wife cheated on you, she lied to you about it for years, and made you feel like the crazy one for suspecting her. All the while, the evidence that you weren’t crazy was sitting on her phone. That’s going to leave a mark. Given your history, PASS, you can ask your (next) girlfriend to be a little more considerate and, when you’re feeling insecure, to offer reassurance. You can also apologize to your (next) girlfriend in advance for the price she’s paying on account of your ex. But you can’t ask your girlfriend to sacrifice her privacy on the altar of your lying ex and/or your acrimonious divorce. That isn’t fair. And you certainly don’t get to violate her privacy and then demand that she defend you to her friends. P.S. I’ve been with my husband for longer than your soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend has been alive, PASS, and I don’t have his passcode, and he doesn’t have mine. Because we’re both entitled to some privacy — even from each other, even after all these years. And while I haven’t checked with him about this, I assume he sometimes complains about me to his friends, PASS, just as I complain about him to mine. While I don’t like to think about what he may have said to his friends, I am, in a weird way, grateful that his friends are there for him. Because if he didn’t have that outlet — if he didn’t have someone to vent to — we might not still be together. P.P.S. From the twenty-year age gap to the assumption that making an unreasonable demand at the outset makes you the victim when that unreasonable demand isn’t met… it’s entirely possible this is fakeass-rage-bait question.
Q: I’ve been married to my husband for
ten years. We’re both gay men in our early thirties, good sex life, and happily monogamous. (Monogamous gay couples do exist, Dan!) About a year ago my husband met a guy who is gay and single and a furry, an interest of my husband’s that I do not share. I’ve always made room for his interest in the furry scene — he attends furry events and parties on his own — and I’ve never worried he might be cheating on me. But the way my husband lights up around his new “friend” has me concerned. They recently took a weekend trip with some of my husband’s long-term platonic furry friends that I couldn’t attend. This bothered me, since it felt like my husband was introducing his new boyfriend to his friends. And since they got back, it does feel like something is different. My husband insists nothing happened and says I’m inventing drama and I’m being irrational and insists he’s just mentoring this boy. Even if that’s the case, I feel like this connection
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has crossed the line between a close friendship and the kind of emotional affair where someone is getting all their needs met outside of their marriage. I don’t want to become the crazy and controlling spouse who demands that his husband stop seeing a friend. But I also don’t want to wake up one day and realize our marriage slowly died because I kept telling myself I was being irrational. —Feeling Understandably Restless P.S. We’re not on PrEP because we are monogamous. When we do have sex, it’s usually just JO and oral, but I do bottom for my husband once or twice a month.
A: There’s so much smoke here that I
think you’re entitled to check whether there’s actually a fire — which, in your case, FUR, means maybe taking a look at your husband’s phone. Snooping is always wrong, of course… except in cases where the person doing the snooping discovered something they had a right to know. Call it the Snoopers Paradox: snooping is only okay when the snooper finds out about something they had a right to know… which they could only find out by snooping… which is not okay. You and your husband have agreed to be monogamous, you’re not on PrEP, and presumably you don’t use condoms. That raises the stakes. Your husband can have close friends, furry or otherwise, but when a new friendship starts looking like a romantic relationship — weekend trips, private jokes, a perceptible shift — and your husband responds to your concerns by calling you irrational, I think you’re entitled to some answers. In your shoes, I would snoop. P.S. I get it, I get it: monogamous gay couples exist. But are you really the best messenger at the moment? I mean, it sounds like your monogamous relationship — or at least the monogamous part of your relationship — may have blipped out of existence.
Q: Is it okay for your boyfriend to lie to
you about hooking up with his ex? I’m a 32-year-old woman, boyfriend is 29, we’ve been together two years. He’s into bondage (sub) and I try but it doesn’t arouse me, which lowkey ruins it for him. He expressed interest in getting tied up by a professional rope top at an “event.” I said that would be fine, and he made plans to go to this “rope thing.” I assumed it was some kind of public shibari demo but when I asked him for details and whether I could join him, he got evasive. I snooped through his messages. I know that was wrong, but I discovered the person he’s going to get tied up by isn’t a professional. It’s his equally kinky fucking ex. And it’s not a “rope thing” (a public event), it’s a private play date. They’d actually been communicating for months. He’s furious that I violated his privacy, and I’m furious he lied to me about planning to have a sexual experience with his ex. He says he wasn’t going to cum with
her (which I saw in his text messages), as if that makes this somehow not sexual. But I’ve seen what being tied up does to him and even if he doesn’t get off, he’s going to be hard the whole time. The play date is cancelled, he’s contrite, and he has acknowledged that what I did (snoop) isn’t as bad as what he was planning to do (cheat). I don’t want to break up with him, but I don’t know where we go from here either. —Boyfriend Omitted Necessary Details
A: It should go without saying — but
you asked me to say it, BOND, so I’m saying it — that it’s not okay for your boyfriend to lie to you about hooking up with his ex. That said, I can almost understand why your boyfriend was tempted to lie to you about this. (Understand ≠ excuse.) It’s hard out there for a straight male bondage bottom, BOND, thanks to a pronounced supply-and-demand problem where male bondage subs and female bondage tops are concerned. Finding a woman who’s 1. willing to tie him up for free and 2. genuinely into bondage (and not just going through the motions to please him) is hard, BOND, so he reached out to a known quantity, i.e. an ex with the desired skill set, and then laid down a boundary (no getting off) that allowed him to rationalize away the betrayal. None of this is okay — of course and again — and if your boyfriend had written to me before you caught him, BOND, I would’ve urged him to propose that the two of you meet up with his ex for a bondage session, one that was designed around sharing skills, not getting off. But he didn’t write to me. So, where do you go from here? If you don’t wanna break up with him, BOND, you’re gonna have to find a way to accommodate his need to be tied up by someone who knows what they’re doing and gets off on tying him up. Vanilla partners who are GGG are great, but exploring your kinks with someone who doesn’t share them makes some kinksters self-conscious. Seeing as your boyfriend was prepared to cheat to get tied up by someone whose freak matched his — and again: Not Okay — you might want to create a carve-out that allows your boyfriend to have the occasional bondage session with someone (maybe not his ex) who is as into bondage as he is. But if you take him back and forbid him from doing this, he’ll most likely cheat on you again. So, pick your poison: an accommodation or a breakup.
Got problems? Yes, you do! Email your question for the column to mailbox@ savage.love! Or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/askdan! Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love
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