ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The state issued its first recreational marijuana license to an Ann Arbor dispensary Tuesday.
Exclusive Brands will be able to sell marijuana for recreational use beginning Dec. 1. The business already sells medical marijuana.
As of now, it will be the only place in Metro Detroit where recreational pot can be purchased when such sales are first allowed next month. Businesses that wish to sell recreational marijuana must have a state license and must be in a municipality that has opted in. Many cities have not.
“There were nights I’d stay up to wait in line to turn in documents,” Exclusive CEO Omar Hishmeh said.
In some cases, the state required 600 pages of documents.
"For the recreational side, we had to develop a social equity plan. We had to look at all of our processes and make sure the proper inventories were in place,” Vice President Narmin Jarrous said.
Hishmeh said he knows the lines at Exclusive Brands will be long when customers can purchase recreational marijuana, and he said the business is trying its best to prepare for that.
“I don’t know that we can prepare enough, but we’re doing our best to preside, and we’re really excited to see how that’s going to turn out,” he said.
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