State of Michigan sending a representative to speak at Conference; Detroit City Council President pro tem Cushingberry to deliver keynote address
June 6, 2017 DETROIT– In 2016 Michigan’s legislature created a new business system to retail medical marijuana to the state’s quarter-million registered patients. Licensing for the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act’s (MMFLA) five business types will begin this year, and next month Detroit will host a huge conference to educate current businesses and hopeful entrepreneurs on how to participate in the new marketplace.
On July 9 the MICBD Group
brings their highly-successful conference series to the Atheneum Hotel in the Greektown District. In March the Group hosted a conference at Northwest Michigan College in Traverse City; in 2016 and 2015 the conference series held events at hotels in Lansing and Flint.
The Conference will feature several first-ever events, including a keynote speech delivered by Detroit’s City Council President pro tem George Cushingberry; an update on the rollout of the MMFLA from the State of Michigan’s Licensing and Regulatory Affairs/Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation; a panel discussion on the issue of Minority Inclusion in the new marijuana marketplace; a panel discussion regarding Advancing Women in the Cannabis Industry; and a special In-Line Networking Session to benefit small and emergent business in Michigan.
The Senate Fiscal Agency estimates the market for medical marijuana in Michigan at more than $700 million annually, including $21.3 million per year in tax revenue to the state. There are more than 250 unlicensed medical marijuana dispensaries in the state and a host of operating but unregistered testing laboratories and product manufacturers, all of whom are competing against new business interests for the valuable state license awards.
“Everyone needs information, and that includes existing businesses, new investors, representatives from groups disadvantaged by the War on Drugs and those distanced by societal failures,” said MICBD founder Rick Thompson of Flint, a Board member of Michigan NORML and one of Michigan’s most visible and durable cannabis industry figures. “It is our responsibility to educate the people and help Michigan create a system which is inclusive of all groups.”
Recent development in this authorized industry’s evolution include Detroit’s slow rollout of their own licensing program; Governor Snyder’s announcement of the five-person board of appointees which will approve all new businesses state-wide; and the awarding of the contract for the seed-to-sale program, which will track every cannabis plant grown and every gram of marijuana sold in the new marketplace.
The Southeast Michigan conference boasts presentations by a Lansing lobbyist, a marijuana stock market expert, a certified public accountant and a former Fox News anchor. The Panel discussions are led by notable attorneys and many of the experts on those Panels are Detroit residents.
The Southeast Michigan Cannabis Business Development Conference is presented by Cannabis Counsel of Detroit; national industry leader Mills Nutrients; Intessa Certifications of Ann Arbor; Bloom Club from Ann Arbor; business consultants Michigan Marijuana Law Experts; and design specialists Green Grow Rooms. Sponsors for the event include Kirsch + Leach and Associates; Nichols Law; Culture Magazine; Grow Green Consulting; Mega Grow Ops; The Seed Cellar; Higher Power Potions; and the law firm of Michigan Cannabis Defender.
credit:crossroadstoday.com