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DOWAGIAC — A marijuana provisioning center was officially welcomed into the Dowagiac business community on Wednesday.

Chamber of Commerce representatives and business owners gathered at the ReLeaf Center, 29402 Amerihost Dr, Dowagiac, celebrating the occasion with a ribbon tying ceremony. Instead of a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, Soenen and the chamber used a ribbon tying ceremony to signify the businesses and the community coming together as one.

The ReLeaf Center – which also has a Niles location at 1840 Terminal Rd. –  grows, processes and provisions cannabis. It has other locations in eastern Michigan, but the Niles’ location was its first to grow plants, which are processed and distributed for products at its locations. It is the second provisioning center to open in Dowagiac.

“We help a lot of people and it’s just great to see,” said General Manager Lisa Frank. “I’m so very happy to be part of all this. It’s just been a great experience for me.”

The business is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and also has a drive thru. Owner Michael E. Gelatke looks forward to serving the greater Dowagiac area.

“It means a lot,” Gelatke said. “The cooperation with the city has been great. We’ve built these in other places and the cooperation isn’t always very good but this town has been great. We’re happy to be here.”

For more information on The Releaf Center and the products it offers, visit thereleafcenters.com.