MUSKEGON, Mich. — It's an exciting time for Greg Maki, the owner of Park Place Provisionary, a marijuana store in Muskegon.
"We were the third in the state to get pre-qualified for adult [cannabis] use, we're very proud of that," Maki said.
That means his store could be one of only a dozen locations in the entire state that will be able to sell recreational marijuana in the coming weeks. Maki credits city leaders in Muskegon for acting so quickly.
"The city of Muskegon is very forward-thinking, good and fair. They're tough but they're very fair," he said.
This week the state decided that existing medical marijuana businesses like Park Place can transfer half of their supply that has been in stock for 30 days for recreational use. That means adults over 21 years old could purchase without a medical card.
"Part of our strategy is first to the market; treat the customers well. New stores will open, they'll try them but if they like it here we think they'll come back," Maki said.
Maki's preparations include a staff of nearly three dozen highly trained employees that he says can get the average customer in and out in less than seven minutes. His biggest concern is running out of supply, especially early on.
"It's going to get harder and harder and prices may go up also but that's our biggest concern right now is being able to have enough supply to supply the number of customers we have," he said.
Because there are still some details to work out, Maki doesn't anticipate he'll be selling on Dec. 1. He is tentatively looking at Dec. 11 as the day recreational customers will be welcome.
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