Budding
opportunity
With marijuana legal, entrepreneurs plant roots in greater Niles region Story by Beau Brockett Jr. Photos by Emily Sobecki
O
Investments into burgeoning future In 2008, Michigan became the 11th state to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. In 2018, it became
the eighth state to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older without needing a doctor’s approval. Niles was one of the first municipalities in Michigan to embrace adult-use, or recreational, marijuana, opting in to allow related businesses in October 2019. The decision came as medical marijuana businesses were making steps to open in town, many hoping to eventually take advantage of the city’s new laws. Some city council members shared their excitement marijuana businesses provided Niles during numerous council meetings. They cited more tax revenue, more local employment and economic development on formerly defunct industrial space as perks.
GREATER NILES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
39
RETAIL
n a chilly morning in 2019, George Lynch sat on a camping chair in the bones of an auto care center. Behind him were wooden beams which would become the foundation for future rooms. In 2020, it housed a compliance office, a secure transport station and a display case of marijuana paraphernalia. A remnant vehicle lift station became a basement stairway leading to more marijuana products. On the other side of town sits another former business, Simplicity Pattern Company, in a defunct industrial neighborhood. Soon, Lynch would stand inside
the building, overseeing not textile equipment but marijuana plants. Lynch is the co-owner of Green Stem, LLC, a medical marijuana growing, processing and provisioning business. The places his business inhabits are the remains of Niles’ old industry. Green Stem, Lynch said, is in the business sector is the herald of the new. That is, as long as the budding industry can adjust to plant growth concerns and unwavering opinions on the drug.
