Adult-use marijuana sales could be underway in Traverse City as early as this coming weekend. Justin Elias, president of Puff Cannabis Company, tells The Ticker that Puff’s Traverse City store has cleared all its remaining regulatory hurdles and will be “doing recreational sales this weekend maybe, but Monday (March 27) guaranteed.”

That opening date will likely make Puff, located at 1226 South Garfield Avenue, the first cannabis dispensary in Traverse City to offer retail adult-use sales. The milestone follows a lengthy odyssey that culminated two weeks ago when the City of Traverse City finally issued recreational cannabis licenses to 16 stores within city limits. 12 of those shops, including Puff, are making the transition from medical marijuana to medical and recreational sales.

Per Elias, the process of getting the store ready for adult-use sales has involved additional inspections from the state, as well as essentially separating the store into two halves – one for medical and one for recreational. “And now, all the recreational, adult-use product is showing up [at the store], between now and Saturday,” he says. “So we’ll have a full menu. Puff has the largest recreational cannabis menu in the state of Michigan, and what we do is make sure that every store has the same menu, so we’ll be doing that in Traverse City, too.”

When asked how Puff was able to move things along so quickly, Elias says the company has already done the medical-to-recreational transition for eight stores throughout the state. “So, it’s something we know how to do, and something we make sure we do in a very efficient way.”

Beyond opening for adult-use sales within the next few days, Elias says Puff is planning a celebration of the occasion for Friday, April 1, featuring DJs, food trucks with free concessions, and more.

“We’re relieved to finally be opening for adult-use,” Elias says. “We get 50, 60, 70 people walking in our doors every day for the last three years, asking if they can purchase marijuana. And we have to tell them no. Then they’re confused for five minutes, because we have to explain to them that, while Michigan has legalized recreational cannabis, Traverse City hasn’t. So it’s a weight off our shoulders to finally be here.”