(The Center Square) – Michigan is now encouraging those disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition to sell marijuana.
The Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency’s Social Equity Grant Program grant application window ends at 5 p.m. on Jan. 26.
Narmin Jarrous is the youngest female cannabis executive with Exclusive Brands, which has 10 dispensaries statewide selling products including Church Cannabis Company, KushyPunch, and White Boy Rick.
Jarrous, who founded the Cannabis Business Association of Michigan to increase awareness of the benefits of the cannabis industry to Michigan, said she’s excited social equity operators will receive “actual money.”
“It’s getting actual money into the hands of social equity operators,” Jarrous said in a video interview. “That’s really exciting because before, it was a lot of assisting social equity applicants with fees and licensing applications, but now it’s actually money going to operators that can help them run a successful business.”
Social Equity Grant Program funds must be spent on relevant employee education from an accredited institution, meeting compliance and regulatory rules, or on nearby community investment.
Only one grant will be awarded per qualifying entity, regardless of how many licenses the entity has.
Eligible entities must have a valid adult-use license authorized and issued by the Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, CRA, currently have eligible social equity program participants that have majority ownership of the entity, and a certified participant in the CRA’s Social Equity All-Star Program.
“We look forward to seeing our social equity licensees invest in their business, advance their employees’ education, or work with organizations or non-profits that positively impact their community,” CRA Public Relations Manager David Harns wrote in an email.
Once it is determined how many applicants meet the criteria for approval, each approved grantee will receive an equal share of the grant dollars. For example: 100 grantees = $10,000 per grantee ($1 million/100 grantees).
The target date for fund distribution is March 15, with a midterm status report due on June 1 and the final report due on Sept. 1.
At least 2,303 social equity business permits have been issued in at least 15 states with equity programs, according to Green Market Report.
Similar social equity programs have gone awry in Illinois, where regulators re-distributed licenses after selecting a finalist who also worked for the firm that graded the applications, the Chicago Sun-Times reported in 2020.
A 2023 Reason Foundation study analyzing social equity programs intended to restore harm caused by marijuana arrests, convictions, and incarceration found current social justice approaches “employed by many states fail to target relief to the affected populations and create new barriers for legacy suppliers of marijuana products to gain legitimacy on a legal market.”
