NILES — After the strains of time, licensure approval, renovation and inspection, The ReLeaf Center, Niles’ first medical marijuana business, opened last Friday, Oct. 25 at 1840 Terminal Road in the Niles Industrial Park, offering marijuana products and growing 36 strains of plants.

The opening came two years after Niles City Council voted 5-4 to allow regulated medical marijuana businesses in city limits and 11 years after medical marijuana was legalized in Michigan.

Now, medical marijuana cardholders can purchase marijuana products and paraphernalia to potentially help alleviate symptoms of medical issues, from arthritis to epilepsy.

The ReLeaf Center is a small chain of businesses with provisioning centers, also called dispensaries, located in the eastern Michigan cities of Buena Vista, Chesaning and Lapeer.

At the back of Niles’ ReLeaf Center is a grow facility. 1,500 plants of 36 different strains, or species, grow there and will be processed and used in all four ReLeaf Center locations. The first batch should be on the shelves in about four months’ time.

“It’s been a long process to get this place going, so we’re really happy, and we’re honored to be here in Niles,” said Mike Lumetta, a master grower for Niles’ center.

When prospective customers first approach the center, they will see a wooden façade, what general manager Tyler Trembezynski called “rustic.”

Once inside, they will need to provide their driver’s license and their medical marijuana card, a state identification card that proves its holder is approved to obtain marijuana products from provisioning centers to treat a medical condition.

Failure to provide either, or failure to fill out an informational form, and visitors cannot enter the closed doors of the provisioning center itself, where Trembezynski or another staff member gives them a tour of the products offered.

“It’s new for a lot of people in Michigan, so that’s what I’m big about: walking people through the products that we have and the benefits that they offer,” Trembezynski said.

Right now, The ReLeaf Center does not provide its own marijuana products — the plants in the growing center behind it were rooted last week. Once it does, the center will offer a variety of strains, each with its own effects that could potentially lead to medical
benefits.

According to The ReLeaf Center’s website, strains can be grouped by their terpenes, or oily compounds found in the plant. A terpene with a piney aroma could make one’s mind more active while also helping with medical conditions such as asthma. A citrusy terpene could reduce stress levels while helping with gallstones or heartburn.

Trembezynski got his start in the marijuana industry at an Indiana CBD dispensary, which typically sells topical products that have no mind-altering effects, to patients.

“I loved helping with arthritis, anything that they’re dealing with,” he said. “That’s when I realized that I was going to take the next step up with THC.”

That led him to The ReLeaf Center, which sells products that can be applied on the skin, eaten or smoked, the latter two being able to affect the mind.

Trembezynski was careful to say that some claims of marijuana benefits may have an adverse effect on some people. While a marijuana product may reduce anxiety or depression symptoms for some, it may heighten symptoms for others.

This is one reason why a medical examination is needed before a medical marijuana card can be purchased.

“Everyone came in with an idea with what they wanted but looked around and got an idea of what we have,” Trembezynski said of his first customers. “I do feel like a lot of med patients do already know what works for them, and we don’t want to get them off that track at all.”

The ReLeaf Center will host a grand opening in mid-November, where family and friends of employees and community members will be invited to celebrate a historic opening.