North Coast Provisions, Amazing Budz made first recreational marijuana sales Friday morning

ADRIAN — Recreational marijuana sales kicked off Friday on Adrian’s east side as the first purchase was recorded at 9 a.m.

North Coast Provisions, 922 E. Beecher St., became the first dispensary in Adrian to offer recreational marijuana products.

Owner and CEO Sean McQuarrie said their first customer arrived at 8:25 a.m. and waited until the shop opened at 9 a.m.

“We had a couple wait out,” he said.

A couple of hours later Amazing Budz made its first recreational sale. The shop at 1301 S. Main St. began selling recreational marijuana at 11 a.m.

“We’re super excited to be able to finally sell to everyone,” said Marie McPhail, Amazing Budz owner.

Sales were steady throughout the morning and afternoon at North Coast. McQuarrie estimated they had made about 80 sales and between $9,000 and $10,000 by 3 p.m.

“It wasn’t this mad rush every one is familiar with in other municipalities,” he said. “… It was busier than I thought, though.”

Most of the day saw between three and eight vehicles in the parking lot at any given time.

McQuarrie said curbside service went smoothly and they were able to filter people in and out with ease.

Flower — or bud — was the most popular seller Friday, particularly the Banana Sherbet Kush and Snoop Dawg strains. Pre-rolls — ready-made joints — and cartridges for vaping were also popular products. Over at Amazing Budz the most popular seller was their selection of edibles.

“We’ll be getting more product in this weekend or Monday,” McQuarrie said.

It was a slower day at Amazing Budz. McPhail said Friday was meant to ease into recreational, also known as adult use, sales.

Dakota Hoffman, general manager at the dispensary, said they had only seen about 20 customers by Friday evening but expected sales to ramp over the weekend.

“I think by the end of the weekend we’re going to be hit hard,” he said. “I’m thinking we’re going to run out of product by Monday. As the day has gone on we’ve been getting more calls on rec.”

McPhail said more than once that multiple shipment orders are expected next week.

Orders are placed online, over the phone or in person at either shop. With COVID-19 restrictions, customers are not allowed inside the dispensary.

McQuarrie said about 60% of their orders were placed through their website with another 30% to 40% placed over the phone. The owner said they received plenty of “curious” calls inquiring about recreational sales and products that led to a number of first-time buyers.

“I’m pretty happy with it,” he said. “… We’re all happy with how many people we saw.”

North Coast is only taking cash payments for the time being, but McQuarrie is hopeful they will have a system up and running sometime next week to take payment via credit card. Amazing Budz is also going the cash-only route for the time being.

Customers must be 21 years of age and have a valid ID. Two-and-half ounces can be purchased per transaction.

Both businesses were one of the first to secure a dual marijuana permit with the city. A dual permit allows for the sale of both medicinal and recreational products. North Coast is licensed for and has been selling medicinal products since it opened on Aug. 30. Amazing Budz was the first to sell medicinal marijuana in Adrian.

Highwire Farms, 840 S. Main St., Lume Cannabis Co., 738 S. Main St., and Heads Cannabis, 913 S. Main St., are likely to follow suit in the near future.

North Coast and Amazing Budz are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. this weekend.

Editor’s note: The print version of this story only included comments from North Coast Provisions due to not being able to speak with Amazing Budz in time to add their comments before the print deadline.