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‘Apple Store aesthetic for marijuana’: The stigma has faded at East Lansing's dispensaries

September 14, 2022

Photos of inside Pincanna dispensary, East Lansing, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022

When asked if they think people judge them differently as budtenders as opposed to bartenders, Elayne Curry and Isaiah Robinson, employees at two East Lansing dispensaries, said the stigma surrounding marijuana is fading.

“I definitely do think there is still a stigma, but not so much as there used to be," Robinson said. "Now, this is some people's medicine. It's not all about just getting blazed and sitting around ordering pizzas."

Robinson is an assistant sales manager at Pincanna, one of the four major dispensaries that have opened in East Lansing since Michigan legalized marijuana in 2018. These retail stores offer pipes, dabs, vapes, joints, edibles, topicals and more to customers over 21. 

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Each location is successful due to employees who work to connect customers to the products that will help them the most.

“It’s fun getting new people in," Curry said. "You have older people that are trying it for the first time that really don't know the difference between sativa or indica. So it's really cool trying to help them find out what's a good product for them amongst all the ones that we have.” 

Robinson said the curated dispensary experience is similar to an "Apple Store aesthetic for marijuana." A diverse clientele can find whatever they are looking for in this environment.

“I see all types of people from different backgrounds and everything like that," Robinson said. "Marijuana just brings people together." 

Leslie Pinder currently works in the wholesale side of the industry at Franklin Fields Cannabis in Lansing. She has previously done cultivation and trim at a local cannabis farm in Lansing, visual merchandising for another local dispensary and worked as a budtender and store manager at Skymint East Lansing.

“After my time with Skymint, I really wanted to take a step back from the corporate side of cannabis. My ideologies didn't really align with that side of things," Pinder said. "I'm a supporter of micro-grows, mom-and-pop shops and the caregiver market." 

Pinder said there are certain issues with corporate cannabis that East Lansing consumers should look out for. 

“They're running very large operations, and it is very difficult to control certain microbes or plant health issues," Pinder said. "What ends up happening is, they remediate the product, which could be through dipping in hydrogen peroxide."

The State of Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency, which tasks itself with "stimulating business growth while preserving safe consumer access to cannabis," currently does not require cannabis companies to disclose their practices on products being sold online or at dispensaries.

Pinder said those looking for the best dispensary experience should try small independent farms and stores, like those found in Lansing. She also said she had positive experiences at Pincanna. 

Pinder agrees with her corporate cannabis counterparts on the industry's gradual move into the mainstream.

“I have quite a few family members who live in Indiana and Indiana is a relatively conservative state, especially with their cannabis laws ... I've really noticed even my own family asking questions, opening up,” Pinder said. “They're entertaining the idea of trying CBD, which isn't psychoactive, but it is still a part of the plant. So I do see that shift happening. … I think that the more that we see the laws change, the more that the stigma will start to subside.”

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