The Fire Station Cannabis Co. Qualifies for State Social Equity All-Star Program’s ‘Gold Status’

The CRA’s Social Equity Program is a provision under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (MRTMA) to promote and encourage participation in the cannabis industry by people from communities that have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition and enforcement and to positively impact those communities. The Social Equity All Star Program was announced by the CRA in May of 2022 as a means of encouraging proactive participation by adult-use licensees throughout the state in the Social Equity program.

To qualify for the gold level of the Social Equity All-Star Program, The Fire Station had to meet the silver level requirements, publish its community reinvestment plan on the CRA website, and attest to its implementation. The community reinvestment plan had to detail The Fire Station’s volunteer time and donations to organizations, non-profits, and charities which positively impact any of the groups in these categories:

• Geographic communities that the CRA has identified as disproportionately impacted.
• Racial/ethnic minorities, women, veterans, Native American tribes, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, and returning citizens.

Some unique attributes of The Fire Station’s plan include partnering with Northern Michigan University to establish an annual scholarship for a student from one of the CRA’s identified communities who is studying in a cannabis-related degree program, providing Diversity in the Workplace training to all organizational leadership, and implementing a volunteer time off policy for qualifying full-time and part-time employees to participate in social equity initiatives. In addition, TFS’s Human Resources Director, Carlee Wasik, serves on the CRA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Workgroup (DEIW). This group meets once a month and works to guide the CRA on issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion while empowering their stakeholders.