Lansing, MI – Michigan seemed to have the cannabis industry moving in the right direction, at least on the surface. Just below that surface, uneducated greed tumbles with political contamination, leaving true social equity and hope for the industry a bit of a mess. Workers and townspeople are often the ones who get lost in the fray, and this is not going unnoticed from the “labor shortage” standpoint of corporate cannabis, or our state leaders.
In May of 2022, Rep. Coleman- D (Westland) introduced House Bill 6061, which aims to lower the age of persons looking to work in the cannabis industry, from age 21 to 18. Then in June, the CRA released a Bulletin explaining that anyone with pending charges or convictions of a felony controlled-substance in the last 10 years must go about a special set of forms for obtaining cannabis employment, and be directly approved by the CRA, seemingly closing the door into the industry for some, while possibly sweeping up others on a newly directed path.
House Bill 6061 (2022) has both positives and negatives. On one hand, it could open the green door to an eager pool of young adults looking to get ahead at an earlier age. This would theoretically give those a boost in training, education, and experience for a more robust career path. On the other hand, the major lack of education or requirement for such by the state does not yet exist in the Michigan cannabis space. What’s often portrayed as opportunity is actually an organized farce, meant to draw in the hopeful and enthused for slightly more than they’re currently making, and oftentimes as temp work.
Workers are subjected to unsafe and hazardous conditions regularly, specifically in grow and processing facilities; lack of informed training from the company, along with short general life experience may lead to more injury on the job, the lower the working age.
As more about the mistreatment of cannabis workers comes to light, with unionization efforts and the struggle for employee retention, no wonder the Cannabis Regulatory Agency is trying to open the door to younger people. Most adults can’t get by on the low wages cannabis pays, the lack of benefits, and the lagging pretend career path cannabis boasts. The average rent in Detroit has gone up approximately 51% since 2021, with wages not following suit. In the pocketed areas of Michigan that have opted in, the talent pool is burning up, with employers looking to bring in cheap labor as prices of cannabis sink to the floor. Worker turnover in the U.S. is around 55% in the cannabis industry, as we are also seeing businesses fold in the same breath (Leafly).
Attorney General Dana Nessel spoke to activist Rick Antiss on his podcast “2 Be Completely Blunt” about a new “specialty” court being created: Job Court.
Job court intends to be an “alternative, elective court” that requires the offender to maintain a full-time job for a year without incident. Nessel also stated that the program has had a 0% recivity rate in areas tested. The court will offer wrap around services including transportation to and from work. She also spoke on how cannabis companies have been “eager” to sign up as incubator jobs for the specialty system, raising more questions than providing answers. (@2becompletelyblunt)
This new court, coupled with the possibility of a lowered age of entry into cannabis industry, makes for the perfect way to push workers into jobs for a longer period of time, possibly ‘solving’ a bit of that retention issue. Nessel also stated that cannabis companies and state prosecutors have been eager to sign up for the program, making it sound like the roll out is happening sooner than later.
There is still a lot to unpack here, and much more to learn. What do you think about specialty courts? Dropa a comment below!