ANN ARBOR, MI -- Marijuana is nothing new. A place to legally shop for it is.

Michigan’s first recreational marijuana stores are expected to open Sunday, Dec. 1. Many marijuana shoppers will for the first time come face to face with a “bud tender,” as well as a new array of marijuana products.

Jacob Samways, a budtender at Exclusive Brands LLC, packs marijuana flower into products at 3820 Varsity Dr. in Ann Arbor on Monday, Nov. 4, 2019.Jacob Hamilton

As of Nov. 25, there were three licensed retailers, all in Ann Arbor. They are: Arbors Wellness, 321 E. Liberty St., which opens at 8 a.m.; Exclusive Brands at 3820 Varsity Drive in Ann Arbor, expected to open at 9 a.m.; Greenstone Provisions, 338 S. Ashley St., scheduled to open at 10 a.m.

State licensing officials say nearly a dozen retailers should be able to open by the new year.

Map of licensed and pending retail locations:

First-time marijuana shoppers may benefit from perusing the store website before visiting in person. Most reviewed by MLive include a menu of available products, descriptions and pricing.

“Our menu will be fully up to date with what is available,” Maggie Smith, a manager at Greenstone Provisions, said.

Most shops employ “bud tenders," who are specially trained to relay information about the products and their effects, based on customer needs.

When Smith meets a first-time customer, she tells them to use their senses and smell various marijuana strains.

“Some things are musty and earthy and some are sweet,” she said. “Whatever smells best to you is your body’s way of telling you, 'Hey, that’s what you need to help your body maintain homeostasis."

What is is right “kind of depends on the person," she said. "You ask them what they’re trying to alleviate and what they’re using cannabis for and you can kind of steer them that way.”

But there are a lot more purchase options than just harvested marijuana.

9 Greenstone Provisions adult use marijuana products

Here’s what recreational marijuana shoppers can expect to find on store shelves:

Flower

The harvested marijuana “bud" is sold in shops as “flower." It’s commonly smoked by way of rolled cigarettes, joints or blunts, or in pipes, sold in a loose vegetative form or available in pre-rolled cigarettes.

Gram, quarter of an ounce, eighth of an ounce and an ounce are the typical measurements for sale. There are 28.3 grams in an ounce and a single gram is enough for up to two joints, Smith said. She said customers most frequently buy in quantities of an eighth or quarter-ounce.

The average cost of an ounce of medical marijuana is $261.58, Marijuana Regulatory Agency Director Andrew Brisbo said in November, based on available sales data.

Flower sales make up about 50% of all sales revenue in the existing medical market, according to Marijuana Regulatory Agency quarterly reports.

Recreational prices are expected to be higher than medical, since there is an additional 10% excise tax and a limited supply while the market adds growers, processors and retailers.

Once a flower selection is made, the quantity is weighed and given to the customer in a packaged labeled with tracking information and other details. The information includes the strain’s name, genetics, the origin grower, testing date and location and THC levels as a percentage. THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive compound in marijuana that causes the “high.”

Andrew Thomas shows products offered at Exclusive Brands while they are issued the first recreational marijuana license in the state of Michigan during a Marijuana Regulatory Agency press briefing on Tuesday Nov. 19, 2019 at 3820 Varsity Drive. Exclusive Brands will have their grand opening Friday and Saturday.Nicole Hester/Mlive.com

Typically, strains range from the “high teens to low twenties” in THC percentage, Smith said.

“People get so hung up on high THC and I tell people, THC is not everything,” Smith said. She described times she’s smoked marijuana with high THC levels and felt little effect versus marijuana with low THC levels that caused a “full-on high” after a couple puffs.

Another variable involves whether the marijuana strain is a sativa, Indica or a mix of the two, referred to as a hybrid.

Smith said, due to cross-breeding for various effects, most strains marketed today are hybrids.

Sativa plants tends to be more “energizing" and produce “fluffier nugs," while Indica plants yield a “smaller and denser” flower that induces a feeling of relaxation.

“The main takeaway is that a sativa is generally something you would smoke during the day," Smith said, “and an Indica is something that you would generally smoke in the evening or when you want to unwind.”

Labeled products created and packaged by Exclusive Brands LLC, at their production facility in Ann Arbor on Monday, Nov. 4, 2019.Jacob Hamilton

Vaping

Vaping is a discreet, convenient and some believe healthier way to ingest marijuana.

It involves use an electronic device, known as a battery, vape pen or e-cigarette, to heat up and inhale vapor from oily marijuana distillates that are often packaged in half-gram and gram interchangeable cartridges.

Because there is no combustion, the user avoids ingesting tar and other chemicals released when marijuana is smoked.

The distillate is usually a mix of pure THC extract and terpenes. Terpenes are organic compound found throughout the plant kingdom. They’re what gives marijuana its strong, musty aroma.

Distillate typically contains in excess of 65 percent THC, unless it’s been cut with an additive, said Lev Spivak-Birndorf, the chief science officer and co-founder of Ann Arbor’s PSI Labs.

The Marijuana Regulatory Agency on Nov. 22 banned one additive, vitamin E acetate, that the Centers for Disease Control suspects may be to blame for a lung injury outbreak that killed 47 people and sickened another 2,290 nationwide, as of Nov. 20.

In addition to banning vitamin E acetate’s addition to vaping products, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency ordered the testing of any existing vaping cartridges for its presence prior to sale.

Vape pens maybe purchased for a wide range of prices, but often for between $20 and $40, based on an analysis of online prices.

Andrew Thomas shows products offered at Exclusive Brands while they are issued the first recreational marijuana license in the state of Michigan during a Marijuana Regulatory Agency press briefing on Tuesday Nov. 19, 2019 at 3820 Varsity Drive. Exclusive Brands will have their grand opening Friday and Saturday.Nicole Hester/Mlive.com

Concentrates

Concentrates are powerful. They’re a broad category that refers to marijuana products created by using extraction techniques to refine desired compounds from the marijuana plant, often the THC and terpenes.

“If people can’t get the medical relief they need (from flower) ... or want to find something stronger, it’s a much more potent, condensed version of the flower," Smith said. It’s more convenient and “doesn’t smell as bad,” she said.

The products are often identified in stores as “wax,” “hash oil," “live resin,” “shatter” and “badder."

It’s more of a “one and done" experience, Smith said, referring to the immediate high inhalation may induce, often through a process called “dabbing.”

Dabbing involves use of a “dab rig," a smoking contraption that uses a butane torch to cause combustion of the concentrate, which has a higher heat threshold than flower. There are also smaller devises, such as wax pens or dab straws, Smith said.

THC infused candy at Arbor Kitchen, Tuesday, March 19, 2019 in Ann Arbor. (Ben Allan Smith | MLive.com)Ben Allan Smith | MLive.com

Edibles:

Perhaps the most convenient and relatable manner of ingesting marijuana is through edibles. You eat them.

Appetizing options include: brownies, gummy and hard candies, cookies, chocolate covered espresso beans or nuts, taffy and chocolate.

Edibles are useful for those wishing to control dosages, since the amount of THC is quantifiable in each item. For instance, Smith said, someone may purchase a 10-piece package of 10 mg THC gummy candies. The dose is small so customers can start slow and increase as desired.

Other edibles, such as a $25, 180 mg candy bar sold by Exclusive Brands, contain a large amount of THC in a small amount of food.

People who don’t respect the potency of edible THC, however, may feel its wrath.

“A lot of people will go into eating edibles thinking if they can smoke a lot of flower they can eat a lot of edibles,” Smith said. “We always tell our patients to eat slow. You can always eat more but you can’t eat less.

" ... Some people will completely freak out or send them selves to the hospital or something like that because they ate like 200 mg."

Smith said edible consumption is a “much more full-body experience,” compared to smoking flower.

“And it’s really long-lasting,” she said. "If you smoke a joint, you may be high for two hours but if you eat an edible, you’re probably going to feel it for most of the day.

“That’s something that’s nice about it. They provide long-lasting relief. People who don’t find enough relief just from smoking I always recommend they try edibles.”

Wana- and KushyPunch-branded gummies at Greenstone Provisions, 338 S. Ashley St. in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019. The adult use limit for edible THC products is lower than that for medical use - customers cam buy up to 100mg of product that's served in 10 mg doses.Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com

Everything else:

There are a lot if marijuana products that just don’t fit in the major categories.

“We have the patches, we have tincture, we’ve got body rub, we have bath bombs,” Smith said.

The THC patches, similar to those worn by smokers trying to quit, that can be worn inconspicuously, Smith said.

"The patches are definitely one of our most popular topical products because they work almost immediately and for most of the day. You just put them where the skin is the thinnest and it enters your bloodstream.

“And they’re light dosage ... They’re kind of targeted toward people who have a busy, active lifestyle and need the relief.”

CBD products produced by licensed growers at Greenstone Provisions, 338 S. Ashley St. in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019.Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com

Tinctures are distillates mixed with coconut oil that can be placed beneath the tongue with an dropper and swallowed.

Bath bombs are a mix of CBD, a compound in marijuana that doesn’t create a high but is believed to contain therapeutic properties, oils and fragrances that can be mixed in hot water for bathing, “more of a novelty product," Smith said.

Body rubs are similar to skin lotion and usually contain a combination of CBD and THC.

“You just apply it liberally wherever you’re feeling pain, whether it be your knee or your kneck,” Smith said. "I’ve even used it on my face for eczema.

“It’s really great for arthritis or if you have a muscle injury, even menstrual pains. It works the same way as the patch. It enters your bloodstream transdermally. Those tend to be pretty immediate and long-lasting, in terms of their effects.”

-- Gus Burns is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact him with questions, tips or comments at fburns@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, @GusBurns. Read more from MLive about medical and recreational marijuana.

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