State funds available to county for medical marijuana education and outreach.

State funds available to county for medical marijuana education and outreach.

Mason County  is eligible to receive $9,515 from the state of Michigan to be applied to education and outreach programs relating to medical marijuana. In a memo to county administrators, Colleen Curtis, manager of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs’s Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation Legal Division, stated that the grants, which were once available to county law enforcement offices, are now available through the local health department.

The grants are distributed proportionately based on the number of registry identification cards issued or renewed in the county as of Sept. 20, 2018, according to an additional memo by Kevin Hughes, health officer of District Health Dept. #10.

Mason County currently has a total of 509 registered medical marijuana patients; Oceana County, 593; Manistee County, 420, and Lake County, 247.

Oceana County qualifies for $11,086 in funds; Manistee County, $7,852; and Lake County, $4,617.

The Mason County Board of Commissioners has until Jan. 1, 2019 to apply for the grant.