The Marijuana Regulatory Agency’s (MRA) social equity team has announced additional dates, times, and locations for its education and outreach sessions to promote and encourage participation in the licensed marijuana market:

Date: Thursday, October 3, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Place: Booker T. Dozier Recreation Center, 2025 Middlebelt, Inkster

Date: Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 11:00 AM
Place: Chandler Park Library, 12880 Harper Ave, Detroit

Date: Monday, October 7, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Place: Berston Field House, 3300 Saginaw St, Flint (Mt. Morris)

Date: Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Place: The Township Meeting Hall, 7275 W. Main St, Kalamazoo

Date: Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Place: Public Library, 213 E. Wall St, Benton Harbor

Date: Monday, October 14, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Place: Robert Bowens Senior Citizen Center, 52 Bagley St, Pontiac

Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 1:00 PM
Place: Mt. Pleasant City Hall, 320 West Broadway Street, Mt. Pleasant

Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Place: Hoyt Public Library, 505 Janes Avenue, Saginaw

Date: Thursday, October 17, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Place: Niles District Library, 620 East Main Street, Niles

Date: Monday, October 21, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Place: Muskegon Community College, 221 Quarterline Road, Muskegon (Heights)

Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 11:00 AM
Place: Coldwater City Hall, 1 Grand Street, Coldwater

Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Place: Cadillac Place, 3044 West Grand Blvd, Detroit

Date: Thursday, October 24, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Place: Albion District Library, 501 South Superior Street, Albion

Date: Monday, October 28, 2019 at 1:00 PM
Place: Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, 100 East Cross Street, Ypsilanti

Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Place: East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbot Road, East Lansing

While attendance is free, space is limited. Interested participants need to register at the following website: http://bit.ly/MRA-SE-Events.

More education and outreach sessions for the MRA’s Social Equity Program will be added soon; check the MRA website for more information.

During the visit, the MRA will provide educational sessions regarding the social equity program and the application and licensure process. The MRA’s social equity representatives will be available to assist individuals with completing the social equity application, which will allow the MRA to determine if the individual qualifies for participation in the program.

Participating in the Social Equity Program allows qualifying applicants to benefit from a reduction of up to 60% off the application fee, the initial license fee, and future renewal fees, which will be calculated as follows for qualifying applicants:

• 25% reduction for those who have been a resident of one of the 19 disproportionally impacted communities for the past five years AND whose marijuana establishments will be located in disproportionately impacted communities.
• An additional 25% reduction if the individual(s) holding majority ownership have been a resident of one of the 19 disproportionally impacted communities for the past five years AND have a marijuana-related conviction.
• An additional 10% reduction if the individual(s) holding majority ownership have been a resident of one of the 19 disproportionally impacted communities for the past five years AND were registered as primary caregivers for at least two years between 2008 and 2017.

Social Equity Representatives will confirm eligibility for participation in this program through acceptance of several forms of documentation.

Section 8 of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act (2018) required the MRA to develop “a plan to promote and encourage participation in the marijuana industry by people from communities that have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition and enforcement and to positively impact those communities.”