4/20: Reception is high for local Niles dispensaries

NILES, Mich.-- It's Easter this weekend, along with Passover, but there's a third, unofficial holiday to add to that list: 4/20.

"It's all hands on deck when it's 4/20, for sure," said Michael Lynch, operations manager at Green Stem Provisions.

4/20 is a day notoriously linked with lighting up. It's an unofficial cannabis holiday. It's a day, or weekend, of steep sales for stoners.

"4/20 is definitely one of, if not, the biggest, sales event for our industry, for sure, of the year," Lynch said.

Green Stem, in its 6th year of calling the City of Niles home, is one of the few locally-owned dispensaries in the Southwest Michigan cannabis market.

"Really hoping to draw in a crowd and give customers a good deal," Lynch said.

He says they've served more than a thousand customers on past 420 holidays.

"This year it's on Easter, so we're expecting 4/20 itself to be a little slower," Lynch said.

"It's no different than other stores that sell alcohol or anything else. There's challenges with that, but it's legal in the state of Michigan, and we've embraced it here in Niles," said Ryan Boeskool.

Boeskool, executive director for the Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce, said since dispensaries arrived in Niles roughly 5 years ago, reception has been high.

"They've been a great corporate partner in the area, they've been willing to help engage the rest of the community and see how they can be supportive," he said.

They're seeing green; some cannabis revenue goes back into the community.

Last year, the state doled out more than $87 million to municipalities from 2023 marijuana revenue. The City of Niles got more than $350,000.

This year, the state will roll out more than $99 million to municipalities from 2024 marijuana revenue. The city of Niles gets more than $400,000.

"It has helped the budget for the City of Niles, and it's helped fund a number of projects," Boeskool said. "

And Niles, just across the state border, reaps the benefits from those willing to travel for THC.

"It's very significant, and that's why many of the cannabis facilities have located themselves on 933, because we get a lot of traffic, for instance, coming from Indiana, of course, where it is not legal," Boeskool said.