LEONI TWP., MI – As Choice Labs prepared to become the first business in Jackson County to sell recreational marijuana, receptionist Sarah Clark had to hold back the masses.

"I'm not overexaggerating, we probably get 60 phone calls a day (asking) if we're recreational yet, because they can't wait," Clark said. "We get walk-ins (asking) every day. The other day I literally had someone from Ann Arbor ride their bike here because they thought we were (open for) recreational."

The wait is finally over, as Choice Labs opened for recreational marijuana sales for the first time on Saturday, Jan. 11, at its 3331 Page Ave. location.

It’s available for anybody 21 and older with a valid ID. Choice previously was only open to sell medical marijuana.

The first customer came in just after at 10 a.m. Saturday and bought a pair of pre-rolled joints and a gram of flower, said Choice Head of Compliance Maxwell Murphy.

Choice is one of just 33 retailers across to Michigan to be licensed by the state to sell recreational marijuana. It was the first in Jackson County.

The building is tight and the parking lot only fits about a dozen vehicles, but the Choice sales room is stuffed with medical marijuana options. It includes flower for smoking, edibles for eating, concentrates for dabbing, cartridges for smoking and transdermals to put on skin – among other products.

All of these products will eventually be available for recreational customers. There’s a limited supply of recreational product to start, Murphy said, including some edibles, concentrates and flower.

For first timers, try something low in THC, said Inventory Compliance Officer Dustin Krauss. The lowest concentrated item at Choice Labs is a 5-milligram edible capsule. The highest THC products at the store are 1,000 milligrams.

Once all products are available, prices range from around $5 to more than $40, Krauss said. The biggest medical marijuana seller is the variety of flower.

"Everybody likes flower, it's quite a hot commodity," Krauss said. "We can't really seem to keep it in the store."

Businesses must get local approval before seeking state approval for any type of recreational marijuana license. Leoni Township signed off on a retailer and processing license for Choice Labs and a secure transport license for Evergreen Logistics on Dec. 10.

Choice will continue selling medical marijuana at both locations and prioritize those customers in line. It also offers CBD products for humans and pets. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The business also has a location at 6031 Ann Arbor Road – the former site of the 145 Family Restaurant – but that location isn’t being licensed for recreational marijuana yet.

More recreational marijuana licenses will be considered by the Leoni board at its Tuesday, Jan. 14 meeting, township officials said. The business 20 Past 4 at 3590 Ann Arbor Road already has approval from Michigan, per state records, and only needs local approval before it can sell recreational product.