TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In October 2022, five very well dressed young ladies in their ’20’s hopped out of their black SUV and hurriedly headed to the front door of a marijuana dispensary in Traverse City. It became apparent after going inside of the building that they were part of a bachelorette party and looking for some fun. Unfortunately they were out of luck because at the time, the city of Traverse City had only offered medical marijuana dispensaries to the public. According to another customer who was there at the time, the staff told them they would have to go to Kalkaska, the nearest place where there was a recreational marijuana dispensary.

But now that the City of Traverse City has finally gotten to the point of issuing adult-use recreational marijuana retail licenses in the city, things are going to be moving fast and bachelorette parties will no longer be disappointed.

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After going through applications that were submitted in August of last year from current medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, as well as newcomers to the game, there could be up to 16 recreational cannabis shops in an 8.6 square mile area as early as the end of the month.

According to the Traverse City Ticker, there are many medical marijuana dispensaries in town who have been biding their time, on standby during shaky financial ground, waiting for their new recreational marijuana license to be approved. The process took a while, as the city had to wade through decisions about ordinances and deal with lawsuits.

According to the Ticker, Skymint on East Front Street actually had to close their doors indefinitely while they waited for this new development because they weren’t able to stay profitable by only offering medical marijuana.

Traverse City expects to start issuing the new recreational licenses before March 10th and the new business could be up and running by the end of the month or early April – just in time for the summer tourism season, weddings, bachelorette parties and the like. Traverse City residents and vacationers will be able to happily partake in their cannabis of choice whether they refer to it as a joint, reefer, roach, weed or something else.

And there will be plenty of partying happening with some of the shops having grand re-openings with food trucks, music, giveaways and other events to draw a crowd – just in case the marijuana itself isn’t enough to lure customers through their doors.

The city, no doubt, is all hopped up about the prospect of getting additional tax money into their coffers from the Marijuana Regulation Fund. The Michigan Dept. of Treasury announced at the end of February that more than $59.5 million was being distributed to 224 municipalities and counties as part of the “Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act.” With the act, every eligible municipality receives $51,800 each for every dispensary located within its jurisdiction. Kalkaska received $414,729.68. If Traverse City approves 16 applicants to open their doors, they will be getting about $830,000 for 2023.