The first year of state-licensed recreational cannabis sales in Michigan saw $511 million of sales in recreational and $474 million in medical sales, generating over $100 million in tax revenue, but the state also found that the commercial cannabis industry drastically failed to attract minority business owners.
The Marijuana Regulatory Agency collected data in December that showed 79% of people interested in ownership of licensed cannabis facilities were white. Black people accounted for 3.8% while 1.5% were Hispanic or Latino.
In response, the agency’s Racial Equity Advisory Workgroup, comprised largely of people of color who are experts in equity programming, made recommendations that would create partnerships with large businesses and local municipalities to equip communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis being illegal until 2018.
Michigan doesn’t release demographic statistics of cannabis licensees so the exact number of minority owners is unknown. In order to address barriers for licensees or applicants of color, the workgroup is recommending a voluntary data collection survey to track and address challenges.
Read more at mininggazette.com