Luna Pier’s first medical marijuana dispensary is now open

Green Labs Provisions, a medical marijuana dispensary in Luna Pier, is open for business.

Owned and operated by Jason (JD) Davison, a 39-year-old veteran, along with Sean Lyden and Breen Lyden, the facility located at 10701 Madison St. specializes in medical cannabis, accessories and apparel.

Open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., customers must be 18 or older and have valid identification and a medical marijuana card.

The business has 12 employees. Dave Azoni serves as chief operating officer and Stephen Georgiadis is chief plant officer. Budtenders assist customers with in-store purchases and orders can be placed online.

"Many people need help to find what will help them the most and our knowledgeable bud-tenders facilitate that process. We specialize in the finest cannabis in the Michigan market featuring our house brand, Dutch Touch Genetics,” Davison said. “The new business (opened November 3) has been very well-received by the local community and we are starting to gain traction at the store. Many people have commented on how nice our storefront is and how they welcome the investment into their town.”

Green Labs is a provision and grow center.

"A ‘provisioning center’ is a store that sells medical marijuana to medical patients with the appropriate card issued by a physician and ‘grow’ is a cultivation site where marijuana is grown, harvested, dried and trimmed for sale,” Davison explained. “There are countless grow methods, but our facility is fully indoor using the best and cleanest nutrients in a sterile environment for the plants to thrive. Cheaper marijuana in the market comes from outdoor or greenhouse grows where mold and pests are rampant and require significant remediation with harmful chemicals and/or radiation.”

Once the business has obtained its recreational license, adults 21 years or older with a valid I.D. can shop at the store. Davison estimates 90 percent of his business will stem from recreational sales.

Davison had his business idea more than 10 years ago, but it wasn’t until 2018 when he approached the city with the concept of building the facility. Davison said opening a medical marijuana facility has required both patience and time.

He admits his parents were even reluctant with the initial idea, especially his father, Dave Davison, a former Luna Pier mayor.

"My dad is a retired police officer and decorated detective, convincing him that I should open a marijuana establishment was quite the uphill climb, especially when he was in office,” he said. “The potential for conflicts of interest and doing this whole thing the right way were contributing reasons my dad stepped down as mayor years ago when we were first starting the project.”

"We took time to allow for a ton of community input and were required to obtain Mason School Board approval for the purchase of the land where we are currently located. The city was only willing to zone the area where we are currently, which required roughly 1.5 million dollars in infrastructure work to get water, electric, sewer service, and raising the building pads areas above the floodplain.”

“It takes a significant amount of planning and paperwork to obtain even a preapproval from the State before any construction begins. There are countless hoops to jump through and then comes the task of building the facility on an appropriate location. Then, there are final inspections, hiring staff, etc. which all add up.”

According to Davison, his goal from the beginning has been to provide support and relief to his customers and financial support to the city.

"We have greatly increased the property tax base for our property and building. Most importantly, once we receive our adult-use license, 15 percent of the 10 percent excise tax on adult-use marijuana will go directly to the City of Luna Pier. This will be a major benefit to the city because it has only a few other revenue streams now.”