Michigan has created a joint-venture program to help those participating in the state’s cannabis industry social equity program partner up to reach their goals.
The state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency on Tuesday unveiled a new Joint Ventures Pathway Program. It’s part of the existing social equity framework — aimed at helping those hurt by pot laws get into the business — that Michigan made when the state legalized recreational cannabis. This new strategy is getting introduced because so far there’s still huge gaps in ownership for people of color in Michigan.
The joint-venture program was made to link up those eligible for social equity benefits with other existing or potential recreational licensees. That could mean creating a business partnership, as well as mentorship, employment and incubator programs.
This new strategy, an update to the social equity policies, was created based on input from the agency’s Racial Equity Advisory Workgroup. The working group got formed after “it became clear that the broad language of the statute was not enough to address the specific issue of racial inequities within the commercial industry,” the MRA said in a news release.
Despite the social equity program rolling out along with recreational cannabis, for which sales started in late 2019, the agency found in December 2020 that just 3.8 percent of people with ownership interest in recreational businesses in Michigan were Black and 1.5 percent Hispanic or Latino, MRA director Andrew Brisbo wrote in a letter announcing the working group’s recommendations.
The group’s 24 members include state Sen. Marshall Bullock, cannabis entrepreneur Tatiana Grant and state Rep. Sarah Anthony. The full list of their recommendations can be found on the state’s website.
To qualify for Michigan’s social equity program that gives fee discounts, training and other resources, residents hoping to operate a cannabis business need to live in a place that’s been hurt disproportionately by the war on drugs and/or hold a marijuana-related conviction. Michigan in May 2020 increased eligibility for disproportionately affected communities from 41 localities to 184.
Those interested in signing up for the joint venture program as a social equity participant or as a partner can visit the state’s website.
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