180 Marijuana Dispensaries Pop Up In Detroit
- Thread starter TheMan13
- Start date
Detroit's dispensaries are disgusting. Unfortunately, many people have no choice but to shop there.
Prices were low, low, lowball offers last time I went, but they didn't evaluate the product, they just said "$150, but we'll be calling for serious weight every day." Sweet, some criminals from 8 mile calling me every day and having my address on file. No thanks bud, but I am glad that the courts are silently showing support for a market of some sort.
I won't go back down there, but lots of people will - especially without regulation, all the shitty growers will need a place to move their overly dried out, non-cured, pesticide filled, bug carcass covered, junk. The black market is good for something, just not good for creating high quality meds.
Prices were low, low, lowball offers last time I went, but they didn't evaluate the product, they just said "$150, but we'll be calling for serious weight every day." Sweet, some criminals from 8 mile calling me every day and having my address on file. No thanks bud, but I am glad that the courts are silently showing support for a market of some sort.
I won't go back down there, but lots of people will - especially without regulation, all the shitty growers will need a place to move their overly dried out, non-cured, pesticide filled, bug carcass covered, junk. The black market is good for something, just not good for creating high quality meds.
cephalopod
Well-Known Member
Detroit officials want rules for medical pot shops
By Bill Laitner and Joe Guillen, Detroit Free Press12:07 a.m. EST January 20, 2015
56TWEET 1LINKEDIN 68COMMENTEMAILMORE
Inside a neat brick building on Detroit's east side, a steady stream of customers stroll in to view, sniff and purchase something that not long ago would've landed them in jail — medical marijuana.
This is a dispensary, where concentrated marijuana sits in rows of shiny jars or is dissolved in tubes of vegetable oil for cooking, and where walls of bulletproof metal protect the inventory.
"There's a lot of people relying on us for getting their medicine, so we are, honestly, petrified" about inviting police scrutiny, said owner Adam MacDonald, 40, of Grosse Pointe Farms, in explaining why he requested that the Free Press not name his store.
Still, as chairman of the National Patients Rights Association — a group of mostly Michigan dispensary owners, their lobbyists and lawyers — MacDonald said he's given state lawmakers tours of his store on Mack Avenue, across from stately homes in Grosse Pointe Park.
"We've reached out to many people who were against this and turned them around," he said.
FREEP
Meet the candidates to fill Detroit council's opening
FREEP
Kent County couple convicted in major pot-growing ring
Neighborhood concerns
Some of the opposition to the proliferation of dispensaries is from residents who see them as a potential threat to the quality of life in some neighborhoods.
"Do we want the kind of business that invites holdups and robbery and gunplay?" said Pam Weinstein, of the Rosedale Park Improvement Association, which represents a stable area on the west side that Tate represents. "They're like fortresses, which makes you feel uneasy."
Weinstein said she supported the ballot initiative to legalize medicinal marijuana that Michigan voters approved in 2008, but she is uneasy with the growing number of dispensaries and the lack of regulations controlling them.
"None of us envisioned storefronts selling products," she said. "Instead of being in a medical context, it seems like it's turned into a commercial enterprise. I'm not happy about that and many people in my community are not happy about that."
Some residents want to see rules in place that say where the dispensaries can be opened and by whom.
"My concern is that it's unregulated. Anybody can get a license," said James Ward, 76, who lives in the Green Acres neighborhood that's bordered by 8 Mile, west of Woodward. "It's an opportunity to make money."
Tate said he has toured several dispensaries and has seen operators who have poured money into their shops to provide patients with a comfortable environment. Others are more profit-driven, he said.
"We've gone to some places that look almost resort-like," Tate said. "One had a waterfall. It was amazing."
A cluster of three Detroit dispensaries near the intersection of Van Dyke Avenue and East Eight Mile Road — at the Detroit-Warren border — provides a glimpse into how the dispensaries operate.
At Pure Michigan Wellness, a receptionist greets customers who sit in a waiting area — painted green — where coffee and water is available and a TV streams music.
Across the street, Starbuds had a much blander atmosphere inside. The store's sign outside looked like it was designed to play off the green and white Starbucks logo. And less than a mile away on Van Dyke is the dispensary Family Trees. It advertises its delivery service and that it welcomes felons as patients.
A common theme among these stores is a heavy security presence. Guards, sometimes armed, often are posted at a dispensary's entrance. Those working at the stores referred questions to the stores' owners.
Until any possible local regulations are approved, Tate said the city can enforce existing laws regarding signage and building permits.
"We've got to treat this like it's a real business, because that's what it is at this point," Tate said.
Contact Bill Laitner: 313-223-4485 or blaitner@freepress.com
By Bill Laitner and Joe Guillen, Detroit Free Press12:07 a.m. EST January 20, 2015
56TWEET 1LINKEDIN 68COMMENTEMAILMORE
Inside a neat brick building on Detroit's east side, a steady stream of customers stroll in to view, sniff and purchase something that not long ago would've landed them in jail — medical marijuana.
This is a dispensary, where concentrated marijuana sits in rows of shiny jars or is dissolved in tubes of vegetable oil for cooking, and where walls of bulletproof metal protect the inventory.
"There's a lot of people relying on us for getting their medicine, so we are, honestly, petrified" about inviting police scrutiny, said owner Adam MacDonald, 40, of Grosse Pointe Farms, in explaining why he requested that the Free Press not name his store.
Still, as chairman of the National Patients Rights Association — a group of mostly Michigan dispensary owners, their lobbyists and lawyers — MacDonald said he's given state lawmakers tours of his store on Mack Avenue, across from stately homes in Grosse Pointe Park.
"We've reached out to many people who were against this and turned them around," he said.
FREEP
Meet the candidates to fill Detroit council's opening
FREEP
Kent County couple convicted in major pot-growing ring
Neighborhood concerns
Some of the opposition to the proliferation of dispensaries is from residents who see them as a potential threat to the quality of life in some neighborhoods.
"Do we want the kind of business that invites holdups and robbery and gunplay?" said Pam Weinstein, of the Rosedale Park Improvement Association, which represents a stable area on the west side that Tate represents. "They're like fortresses, which makes you feel uneasy."
Weinstein said she supported the ballot initiative to legalize medicinal marijuana that Michigan voters approved in 2008, but she is uneasy with the growing number of dispensaries and the lack of regulations controlling them.
"None of us envisioned storefronts selling products," she said. "Instead of being in a medical context, it seems like it's turned into a commercial enterprise. I'm not happy about that and many people in my community are not happy about that."
Some residents want to see rules in place that say where the dispensaries can be opened and by whom.
"My concern is that it's unregulated. Anybody can get a license," said James Ward, 76, who lives in the Green Acres neighborhood that's bordered by 8 Mile, west of Woodward. "It's an opportunity to make money."
Tate said he has toured several dispensaries and has seen operators who have poured money into their shops to provide patients with a comfortable environment. Others are more profit-driven, he said.
"We've gone to some places that look almost resort-like," Tate said. "One had a waterfall. It was amazing."
A cluster of three Detroit dispensaries near the intersection of Van Dyke Avenue and East Eight Mile Road — at the Detroit-Warren border — provides a glimpse into how the dispensaries operate.
At Pure Michigan Wellness, a receptionist greets customers who sit in a waiting area — painted green — where coffee and water is available and a TV streams music.
Across the street, Starbuds had a much blander atmosphere inside. The store's sign outside looked like it was designed to play off the green and white Starbucks logo. And less than a mile away on Van Dyke is the dispensary Family Trees. It advertises its delivery service and that it welcomes felons as patients.
A common theme among these stores is a heavy security presence. Guards, sometimes armed, often are posted at a dispensary's entrance. Those working at the stores referred questions to the stores' owners.
Until any possible local regulations are approved, Tate said the city can enforce existing laws regarding signage and building permits.
"We've got to treat this like it's a real business, because that's what it is at this point," Tate said.
Contact Bill Laitner: 313-223-4485 or blaitner@freepress.com