The city of Grand Rapids now has its first medical marijuana dispensary.
The grand opening of Fluresh on the city’s Southwest side Friday came more than two months after the state’s first recreational marijuana shops opened.
Leah Bailey, the CEO of Fluresh, says this has been a long time coming.
“We are overwhelmed, thrilled, feel very fortunate and honored that we’re able to bring the very first medical dispensary to the city of Grand Rapids,” Bailey said.
Bailey says she hopes to sell recreational products once the city allows recreational marijuana shops.
“We would like to serve the medical patients first, but also the people of Grand Rapids,” she said.
Michigan already has 43 recreational marijuana shops. The city of Grand Rapids has said it will open applications for recreational dispensaries on April 20th, also known as the marijuana holiday "420."
Kyle Riddering, a Sparta resident and one of the customers at Fluresh’s grand opening, says he’s happy that there’s a dispensary that isn’t far away.
“Before this, people had to drive two, three hours to Bay City just to get good deals. And if they wanted to go to Lansing, they were paying a higher price,” Riddering said.
Nancy Wheeler is a medical marijuana patient who says she uses different marijuana products to ease her aches and pains.
Wheeler says she’s happy to see the shop open closer to home, but she also knows Fluresh would have more business if recreational users were allowed to shop there.
“I really thought the line outside would be much longer, but I know once they start selling recreational, this place is going to be packed,” Wheeler said.
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