wp-import-export-lite domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home2/meds/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121ANN ARBOR \u2013 Nearly two hours before the first sales of recreational marijuana began Sunday, the line at Arbor Wellness snaked around a city block.<\/p>
And Nick St. Onge was the first in line, arriving from his Clinton Township home shortly before 7 a.m.<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s a historic moment. I wanted to be one of the first ones to buy legal marijuana,\u201d he said. \u201cTo not have to worry about it anymore. I can just walk in and buy it instead of going to somebody on the street to find it. It\u2019s tested and that\u2019s comforting.\u201d<\/p>
It wasn\u2019t a cheap trip for St. Onge. His bag of Head master Kush and Mint Milano flower rang in at $414, \u201cBut it will last me awhile.\u201d<\/p>
The actual first sale happened at 9:50 a.m. to legendary cannabis activist John Sinclair, a Detroit resident who racked up three marijuana-related arrests in the 1960s and landed a 10-year prison sentence for giving an undercover cop two joints. His plight attracted the attention of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who headlined a concert in Ann Arbor in 1971 to bring attention to Sinclair\u2019s arrest.<\/p>
He was joined by Ryan Basore, who also was arrested and spent three years in federal prison in Morgantown, West Virginia, for runnin<\/p>
g medical cannabis dispensaries in Lansing during a time when there were few rules and regulations on medical marijuana. Their 10 pre-rolled joints of GG #4 and Forbidden Jelly totaled $160.35.<\/p>
These days, Sinclair doesn\u2019t have to worry about finding weed, he\u2019s been smoking every day for decades. But he wanted to be in Ann Arbor to help celebrate the momentous moment for marijuana.<\/p>
\u201cTo me, this is all for other people. I\u2019ve been able to get weed every day since 1962,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m glad for the average person that they don\u2019t have to worry about it anymore.\u201d<\/p>
Hundreds of people waited in lines at three Ann Arbor marijuana retail stores \u2014 Arbor Wellness, Greenstone Provisions and Exclusive Brands \u2014 on the first day of legal recreational sales in Michigan. Those were the only three shops open on Sunday with more to come as the state licenses more stores.<\/p>
Customers came from near and far for the first day of recreational sales, including trips from Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The day was one part rampant capitalism with marijuana businesses dealing with the challenges created by the crowds and one part circus.<\/p>
\u201cI love cannabis,\u201d hollered one man at Greenstone Provisions.<\/p>
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to run anymore. It\u2019s legal now,\u201d said another man at Arbor Wellness to a pair of runners who passed the line of marijuana customers.<\/p>
And Aaron Bobo, an employee at Hungry Howie\u2019s in Saline, ran back and forth to his car grabbing more cheese and pepperoni pizzas that he was selling \u2014 at $10 bucks a pop \u2014 to the hundreds of people patiently waiting in line at Exclusive Brands.<\/p>
He was doing a brisk business.<\/p>
State Rep Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, wasn\u2019t buying products Sunday, but wanted to greet customers \u2014 many were his constituents \u2014 outside Arbor Wellness.<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s a whole new day,\u201d he said. \u201cAs we go into the recreational market, we have to make sure we\u2019re not doing it at the expense of the medical market, because this demand is huge.\u201d<\/p>
The recreational sales became possible when the state decided to allow licensed marijuana businesses to transfer 50% of their inventory from the medical side of the business to the recreational side. But there is a fear that the transfer will result in a reduction in supply for medical patients.<\/p>
\u201cWhile we can\u2019t guarantee there won\u2019t be a shortage at some point, we\u2019re doing fairly well at this point,\u201d said Narmin Jarrous, executive vice president for business development at Executive Brands. \u201cI got here at 6 a.m. and there was already a long line.\u201d<\/p>
The sales come more than a year after voters approved legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use. Under the ballot proposal, use, possession and sales of marijuana are now legal to anyone 21 or older. People also can grow up to 12 plants for personal use.<\/p>
Andrew Brisbo, director of the state\u2019s Marijuana Regulatory Agency, said he was proud of the state\u2019s ability to get recreational sales started months sooner than expected.<\/p>
\u201cI am proud of the hard work our team put in to implement the will of the voters, ahead of the deadline,\u201d he said.<\/p>
But Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of the Smart Approaches to Marijuana which opposes legalization, said it was a sad day for Michigan.<\/p>
\u201cAn addiction for profit industry can now target vulnerable communities just as it has done in other states,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s only a matter of time before we begin to see its lobbyists bankroll lawmakers and claw away at any and all regulations placed upon it.\u201d<\/p>
Others looked at the day as a celebration.<\/p>
Rick Thompson, owner of the Michigan Cannabis Business Development Group, said Sunday was the culmination of decades of work to legalize marijuana.<\/p>
\u201cWe\u2019re the first state in the Midwest to be able to walk this path. We are a leader and the way cannabis law reform has been accomplished so far,\u201d he said, after buying several pre-rolled joints. \u201cDamn it. America is a beautiful place. And Michigan is more beautiful today.\u201d<\/p>
By 9:30 a.m., about 200 people were waiting in line by the historic yellow house where Greenstone Provisions sets up shop. Despite the cold and drizzle, people were in good spirits.<\/p>
Al Gray, who made a 40-minute drive from Toledo to get to the Ann Arbor dispensary, said he had \u201cnothing else to do.\u201d<\/p>
\u201cIt helps me sleep at night,\u201d the 62-year-old said.<\/p>
Gray suffers from insomnia and has been using marijuana off and on for 30 years. He planned to purchase an ounce of marijuana flower at Greenstone.<\/p>
\u201cUsed to be hard to find until today,\u201d he said, laughing.<\/p>
Tony of Belleville, who didn\u2019t want to give his last name, made a new friend while waiting in line, getting to know Jordan Zawaski of Livonia. The 29-year-old and the 28-year old said they prefer marijuana over drinking.<\/p>
\u201cI feel like when I take medicinal or recreational marijuana, I\u2019m in control, I feel good, I eat more because I\u2019m trying to gain weight, I sleep better. Those are the reasons why I choose to use it,\u201d he said.<\/p>
Daniel Armstrong and Travis Elliott, were one of the first customers at Greenstone, driving from Angola, Indiana at 6 a.m. to mark the historic moment.<\/p>
Armstrong has been a marijuana supporter ever since he was a teenager in the mid-\u201980s. Now 49, he recalled attending protests on the diag at U-M when he was 15. The Coldwater resident said he has been a medical marijuana user for about 10 years.<\/p>
\u201cI want to be a part of history, and this is part of history,\u201d he said.<\/p>
Legal weed is a new concept for Elliott. He is from Charlotte, North Carolina, where having even the smallest bag of pot will put one in jail. The 29-year-old said he was arrested three times for possessing the drug while attending Winthrop University in South Carolina.<\/p>
\u201cComing to a market where anyone over the age of 21 can purchase flower, dab, concentrate, anything they want; walk out, put in in the trunk of your car, go home and smoke it is just a blessing,\u201d he said.<\/p>
Rashad Sweed, a military veteran from Monroe, became fast friends with Brett Cole and Micheal Agrusso, who drove from Findley, Ohio, during their four hours waiting in line at Exclusive Brands.<\/p>
\u201cI feel like this is our opportunity now,\u201d Sweed said. \u201cInstead of me having to fight for it and getting thrown in jail, I can freely smoke and deal with my PTSD as a normal person.\u201d<\/p>
Cole said he got hooked on opiates when he was diagnosed with cancer as a kid, but eventually turned to marijuana.<\/p>
\u201cAt 18, I went to alternative medicine because that was the better choice for me. It was a healthier options with less damage to the body,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been waiting for 10 years for legalization, so this is great.\u201d<\/p>
The Ann Arbor Police Department had officers posted at several of the pot shops. Officer Jennifer Sartori chatted with customers at Arbor Wellness.<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s been really chill,\u201d she said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s in a good mood and there have been no problems at all.\u201d<\/p>
More: <\/strong>Here\u2019s how recreational marijuana can affect your health<\/a><\/p>