Michigan Report: Marijuana Reg Agency's Social Equity Plan, Another Weed Grow Facility And Cannabis Industry Just Keeps Booming

Michigan's Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) released data last year showing that of all the individuals who have an ownership interest in a licensed adult-use cannabis business in the state, only 3.8% were Black and only 1.5% were Latino. The data naturally raises concerns in a state with a population of nearly 10 million - 14% Black and 5.6% Hispanics and Latinos.

Meanwhile, nearly 80% of people in federal prison and nearly 60% of people in state prison for drug offenses happen to be Black or Latino, data that reflect arrest rates in the rest of the country, according to the ACLU, which notes that despite roughly equal usage, Blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession.

To help remedy this glaring disparity, the MRA launched a new program this week to bring more social equity to the state's cannabis industry, according to the Detroit Metro Times.

The Joint Ventures Pathway Program (JVPP), established on a recommendation made by the MRA's Racial Equity Advisory Workgroup earlier this year, will connect eligible social equity participants with adult-use licensees and "any businesses or organizations that wish to work with social equity participants and are interested in pursuing partnerships," the MRA said in a statement. The racial equity advisor workgroup is made up of local elected officials and industry stakeholders in Michigan, the home state of Benzinga.

"As the agency responsible for implementing and administering the laws governing commercial licensure of the marijuana industry in Michigan, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency ... recognizes the importance of equity in opportunity for businesses operating in this newly legalized industry," per the MRA.

Michigan's marijuana market, by the way, is booming (record-breaking $171 million in sales for July) with a significant list of cannabis entrepreneurs happily doing business there, such as NBA veteran Al Harrington, who opened his first cannabis shop in Detroit in 2019, featuring Viola, which recently became the first-ever black-owned multinational cannabis brand.

And then there's TerrAscend TRSSF, which recently entered the Michigan market after reaching a deal to buy local operator Gage Growth Corp. GAEGF in an all-stock transaction worth $545 million.

Let It Grow: In view of the myriad cannabis companies and dispensaries in Michigan, someone has to grow the weed.

Michigan Pipe Dreams, LLC., a company in the Big Rapids area, will soon be helping out with that task, reported Pioneer. After some delays, renovation of the property at 125 Howard St. is underway and the company's plans to establish a cannabis grow and processing facility in the town's industrial park are still on track.

“We are still on track with our facility and our business plan,” Michigan Pipe Dreams' owner Kimberly Yob said. “The renovation of the building has begun, and although COVID-19 has caused some delays in our progress, we are hoping to have the facility up and running by the first of the year.”

Photo: Jason Hutchison on Unsplash