Checking in on Northern Michigan’s Cannabis Scene
The Northern Express has a great feature feature on the newest additions to the Northern Michigan recreational cannabis market:
December 1, 2019, marked the first day of official legalization. While some parts of northern Michigan have so far “opted out” of recreational weed — Traverse City, for instance, is working on rules for licensing and regulating recreational marijuana dispensaries in the area — other parts of the region have embraced the new status quo. In areas like Benzonia and Kalkaska, adult-use weed is already putting down deep roots, with numerous stores opening their doors (or expanding from their previous medical-only designations) so far this year.
The bad news for most of the area’s recreational marijuana shops is that they had only a few weeks of adult-use sales under their belts before COVID-19 hit and changed everything. The good news for those businesses is that the state Marijuana Regulatory Agency has issued temporary accommodations that allow them to offer both curbside pickup and home delivery. Those accommodations mean that cannabis products are easier to get in northern Michigan than ever before — and just in time for long days of stay-at-home quarantine.
They highlight five retail dispensaries:
Lume Cannabis Co. serves medical patients and adult-use customers in eight different locations around the state, including one in Honor that is open from 10am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sundays.
Great Lakes Natural Remedies launched in 2017 with a medical marijuana cultivation and processing facility in Saginaw that has opened their first retail location in Benzonia. The company dedicates a portion of proceeds from cannabis sales in Benzonia toward the Betsie River watershed & they are open 10am to 6pm, Wednesday through Saturday.
HumbleBee Products in Crawford County (near Grayling & Hartwick Pines) was the first medical marijuana provisioning center in northern Michigan. They are offering curbside pickup services throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Customers can view a product menu online and call in their orders ahead of time. Hours are 11am to 7pm Monday through Saturday and noon through 4pm.
Pincanna a new vertically-operated cannabis brand in the state of Michigan that operates a state-of-the-art facility on 185 acres of land in nearby Pinconning. The opening of Pincanna’s Kalkaska location has been delayed by the COVID-19 crisis.
Riverside Provisioning began recreational marijuana sales on March 16, just a week before Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued her stay-at-home order for the state of Michigan. Throughout the closure, Riverside has adopted a “lobby closed, but business open” philosophy, encouraging patients and customers to call ahead to place their orders for curbside pickup. Hours are 11am to 7pm every day.
