Marlisa Meah, owner of the Evergreen Wellness medical marijuana dispensary in Detroit, has a lot on her plate these days.

She’s one of the first marijuana business owners in Detroit and has nearly a year of business in the new industry under her belt. So she has to ensure that renewing her medical license goes smoothly and prepare for the emerging recreational market that is right around the corner.

She was one of about 100 people attending a Marijuana Regulatory Agency meeting in Detroit on Thursday to learn how to apply for one of the recreational marijuana licenses that will open the market later this year to anyone 21 and older, beyond the nearly 300,000 people who have medical marijuana cards.

“I want to do recreational and probably also in the grow part because those two go hand in hand,” the Detroit resident said.

Meah will have a leg up because medical marijuana business license holders will have the first crack at licenses for most of the license categories in the recreational market for at least one year. Through mid-August, 296 medical marijuana licenses have been awarded by the state: 121 growers; 15 processors; 144 dispensaries; 10 secure transporters and 6 testing facilities. [Read more at Detroit Free Press]