Forty-seven years after the first Hash Bash was held on the U-M Diag, Ann Arborites will be able to legally buy recreational marijuana. Exclusive Brands, a marijuana dispensary and growing facility on Varsity Dr., received the state’s first (and, as we went to press, only) retail license in late November, and will commence retail sales on December 1. Exclusive was the first to apply, shortly after midnight on the day the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency opened the window for applications
The change comes a little over a year after Michigan voters legalized recreational use. The ballot initiative gave municipalities the option to prohibit or regulate sales within their boundaries, and 80 percent, including Detroit, opted out. Many of the more than fifty applications so far came from businesses in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.
Though Exclusive Brands will be the city’s exclusive provider on December 1, it will soon have company. A number of existing medical marijuana businesses, including the Skymint, Herbology, and Bloom City Club dispensaries, have also applied for retail licenses.
