Patrick Shepard sold marijuana activist and poet John Sinclair a handful of pre-rolled joints at downtown Ann Arbor dispensary Arbors Wellness in December 2019.
It was likely the first-ever licensed recreational retail marijuana sale in Michigan after adult-use marijuana sales became legal in the state.
Now, Shepard, staff and customers are counting the days until the store shuts its doors for good.
Arbors Wellness, 321 E. Liberty St., will permanently close after Monday, July 14.
“The whole market has shifted,” said Alex Moroz, director of operations for owner Arbor Holdings. “Medical stores, medical processors and growers are pretty much gone by the wayside.”
The focus is on adult recreational use, which is beneficial in some ways, like lower costs, to medical users, Moroz said.
Originally founded as a medical marijuana collective in 2010, Arbors Wellness was early to the game, receiving one of the first state licenses to sell products for medical use for people with doctor’s approval.
Shepard, the store’s manager, said many of their medical customers stuck with them and remained part of “the culture” the store created.
Shepard is not happy about the closure and said Arbors Wellness was profitable. He does not feel employees were given a proper explanation for the closure to tell customers when they ask.
“I would love to have a different feeling about it, because I understand business, and in the last few years, we haven’t been making as much money,” he said.
Moroz declined to comment on whether Arbors Wellness is a profitable business.
Shepard believes a plan to increase the wholesale tax rate for marijuana sales from 10% to 32% is a likely factor. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proposed the tax hike to help fund roads.
But the closing, he said, also comes after he experienced what he described as a “lack of support” from ownership.
“We’re not getting the proper products. We’re not getting the proper marketing,” he said.
He said there was a shift from more expensive but “reasonably priced” products that many of the store’s regulars want.
Before Arbors Wellness closes, employees have been told to hand out 20%-off coupons for Herbana, a marijuana store also owned by Arbor Holdings, which has locations in Ann Arbor, Haslett, Lansing and Kalamazoo.
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