Pittsfield Township planning to give contributions to My Brother’s Keeper Alliance

As Pittsfield Township works its way through the process of permitting medical marijuana facilities and recreational marijuana establishments in the township, it’s also thinking ahead about how to use some of the revenue it could see from these.

One specific area is in supporting social equity initiatives.

At its May 11 meeting, the Pittsfield Township Board unanimously approved a resolution that stated in part, “…the net revenue sharing from the licensed marihuana establishments in the Township is donated to My Brother’s Keeper Alliance in one lumpsum payment each fiscal year or until directed otherwise through Board action.”

The Sun Times News followed up the meeting by asking Pittsfield Township Supervisor Mandy Grewal about the decision.

She said the township selected My Brother’s Keeper Alliance because it’s a long-standing organization supporting the cause of addressing the impact of racial injustices, particularly due to marijuana, on men of color.

According to its Facebook page, the Washtenaw My Brother's Keeper (WMBK) is a community transformation and youth empowerment collaborative focused on enhancing the lives of young men of color.

The approved township resolution states, “Pittsfield Township desires to use the net revenue sharing support social equity initiatives in our community.”

“Pittsfield Township has identified Washtenaw County My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (www.obama.org/mbka) as a long-standing and well-established program seeking to “transform communities of color” by, among other things, “empowering boys and young men of color,” which is in alignment with the Township’s mission to address racial inequities and therefore an appropriate recipient of the above-noted (net) revenue sharing,” the resolution states.

As a background, it also said, “Whereas, the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (Initiated Law 1 of 2018) MCL 333.27951 et seq, contains a social equity program intended 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;”

“Whereas, Pittsfield Township, as a community, does not meet the criteria to participate in the state social equity program under the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency (soon to be known as the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency) rules; “

“Whereas, Pittsfield Township understands and recognizes the inequitable impact of marijuana prohibition and enforcement on certain communities;

“Whereas, Pittsfield Township will receive revenue sharing from the state of Michigan based on the number of marihuana establishments in the Township;”

As far as where things stand in the process to allow medical marihuana facilities and recreational marihuana establishments, the township held public hearings, also on May 11, on the medical and adult use marijuana provisions and ordinance.