Michigan tribe opens its first marijuana shop

BY STAN MADDUX

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians have opened their first marijuana store outside New Buffalo.

The sale of marijuana is not legal yet in the City of New Buffalo or New Buffalo Township but the store is on tribal property exempt from local, state and federal laws, since the tribe is considered their own sovereign nation. Rolling Embers, which offers eight different types of marijuana and other products, is next to Interstate 94 at State Road 239 and Wilson Road near the entrance to the tribe’s Four Winds Casino.

The doors opened for business on the 3,000 square foot building after a Friday, April 14, ribbon cutting ceremony.

Dr. Alex Wesaw, treasurer of the tribal council and chairman of the newly formed Pokagon Development Authority, said a number of people played a role in the tribe expanding its business enterprises and ability to provide financially for its residents.

“This is the result of listening directly to our citizenry, taking direction and coming together as a team. This isn’t the effort or result of one person. This is a community working together to accomplish goals,” he said.

The recreational marijuana dispensary was designed and its offerings shaped with help from Opus Consulting, a business performance consulting group out of Portland, Maine, with 10 years of prior experience in the cannabis industry.

Jacques Santucci, president of the company, said people must be at least 21 years old to come inside and every customer has to have their driver’s licenses checked and scanned before being allowed to shop.

Santucci spoke highly of the store being in a highly visible location next to Interstate 94 and having a potential customer base that includes residents from nearby Indiana along with visitors and second home owners from the Chicago area.

He said Rolling Embers is also one of the first marijuana dispensaries in Michigan with an outdoor lounge for customers to sample what they just purchased and sit in patio chairs beside a fire pit.

There’s also a food truck parked beside the lounge daily, along with live music on weekends and corn hole.

“Great care has been taken in the planning and implementation of the vision to provide a curated experience to both new and seasoned cannabis consumers alike,” he said.

The marijuana available for smoking is displayed inside separate plastic containers lined up in what’s called a “Bud Bar.”

The bar identifies the type of marijuana along with the price and THC content in each of the offerings produced by licensed growers in Michigan.

The containers can also be partially opened to smell the marijuana inside. Magnifying glasses are provided to allow customers to closely examine the products.

“Budtenders” are behind the nearby counter to fill orders and accept payment.

“When your transaction is complete, you can leave the store if you like but we much prefer if you stepped onto our consumption lounge where you commune and consume with your friends,” said Chris Radar, general manager of the store, which offers strictly recreational marijuana.

There’s also a menu on the wall behind the counter listing all of the other products, including already rolled marijuana cigarettes, THC infused gummy bears and exotic looking glass smoking pipes.

Radar said only time will tell how many customers the store receives but they’re optimistic because of its location and the number of visitors that come to New Buffalo, especially during the summer.

“We got the beach tourism just down the road. Great restaurants. Great bars. We got the casino just up the road, so, we feel our geography here is really going to be an advantage for us,” he said.

Three Oaks, Buchanan and Niles are among the places in Michigan already with marijuana shops under state law allowing communities to decide whether they want such establishments.

The City of New Buffalo and New Buffalo Township could roll out the welcome mat to the retail sale of marijuana in the near future.

Radar said he actually welcomes the competition because he feels more stores will grow the market by further making the drug more acceptable in society.

“It’ll bring more people into the area and the more people that come into the area and start experiencing the industry, the more it gets destigmatized. That’s what we’re really trying to do here is educate, destigmatize and make cannabis just a part of everybody’s everyday life,” he said.

Radar also said customers in the lounge will be closely monitored to prevent anyone from getting behind the wheel of a vehicle while legally impaired.

“Our staff is trained to also recognize when people are maybe approaching that limit of getting too intoxicated. Just like a bar. we would cut somebody off. If someone is too intoxicated to leave here we would arrange a ride for them,” he said.

The store is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

ARIES MARCH 21—APRIL 19