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First Alpena area marijuna shop set to open soon

News photo by Steve Schulwitz Kevin Currier stands outside of Neighborhood Provisioning, which will be the first marijuana shop to open in Alpena. It is expected to open on Washington Avenue in late March or April.

ALPENA — Alpena is on the verge of having its first marijuana shop open.

Neighborhood Provisions, located on Washington Avenue in the old Frank’s Key and Lock Shop could be open in the next month, and a pair of other dispensaries could open later in the year.

Neighborhood Provisions spokesperson Kevin Currier said the remodeling of the building is entering its final stages, and then final checklist items like a state inspection and getting a special use permit from the Alpena Planning Commission will allow the store to open its doors.

“We are wrapping up our interviews for employees right now and we are very pleased with the amount of amazing people that expressed interest,” he said. “There is a lot of excitement. We have been working on this project since June and going through all the different licensing and we hope to be open by the end of March or in April.”

When the Alpena Municipal Council voted to allow medical marijuana in 2020, at first it limited the total of shops to three. Afterward, the council selected two companies to open, The Green Buddha and Lume Cannabis.

Green Buddha has since had a change of heart and no longer intends to open a shop in Alpena, City officials say. Lume hasn’t yet submitted an application.

Later, after Neighborhood Provisions challenged the council’s scoring when it wasn’t selected, the council removed the cap and voted to allow for adult-use marijuana. Since then, City Director of Planning, Development, and Zoning Montiel Birmingham said, the city’s phone has been ringing off the hook from people wanting more information about marijuana development.

“I receive phone calls almost daily with questions about real estate to see if it fits to where it is an allowable use,” she said. “It is either from developers directly, or through a real estate agent, so I’m really getting it from both sides.”

At the same planning commission meeting where Neighborhood Provisions’ special use permit will be reviewed, so will another request from an area developer who wants to open a shop on Campbell Street in the old Northern Tool store.

Birmingham said it is the same person who owns and operates the Meds Cafe in Rogers Township near Rogers City.

Meds Cafe is also expected to submit a sight plan to the planning commission.

Currier said so far, the anticipation of the new marijuana shop opening up is growing and he believes people are excited to make purchases, but also learn more about hemp products and the benefits they can have for people. He said one of the goals the business has is to educate people and help them decide if cannabis is right for them and to help people overcome the stigmatization of the drug, which is still classified as a Schedule 1 drug and illegal by the federal government.

“That is one of our goals,” he said. “The entire point of us to this is to make it assessable, respectably to people who can use it for things like relieving pain.”

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