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Friday, January 16, 2015

Got Meds: Lansing’s New Medical Marijuana Lounge -by Ben Horner

 
As the concept of Provisioning Centers is eclipsed by the failure to pass comprehensive legislation in Lansing, patients and caregivers move forward to create safe access on their own. The city of Lansing has been in the spotlight for years as a trendsetter for Medical Marijuana. Most MMJ patients have a tradition of smoking their marijuana as a group in a circle. “Puff, puff, pass,” is a concept that promotes the idea of sharing, fellowship and community for those who use cannabis. GOT Meds has opened on south Cedar street in Lansing, providing a lounge style club for patients to come together to medicate and socialize with other like-minded people who are looking for an alternative to the local dispensary business model.
     Got Meds opened last October, as a collective by a small group of caregivers that desired something more than what was available in Lansing at that time. First was a desire to provide affordable medical marijuana to their patients by cutting out the middleman. Grams starting at five dollars were available when the MMM Report came by to check the place out. As patients enter GOT MEDS, the staff warmly greets them. Newcomers are given a brief tour that explains the facilities amenities which include billiards, video games, darts and much more. Guests can acquire meds onsite, then lounge on one of the comfortable couches or tables, roll a phatty and blaze away.
     The Lounge at GOT MEDS is open until 2am most nights of the week, which gives patients an alternative to going to a bar to socialize. Themed movie nights and other activities provide that true social club feeling that can accommodate GOT MEDS diverse clientele. In a separate, private room patients and caregivers transfer a variety of strains, concentrates and edibles. As the membership of GOT MEDS grows so too does the selection and quality.
     Although HB 4271 and 5104 (he Provisioning Center and Edibles bills) died in the senate in lame duck last year, that doesn’t stop patients and caregivers from finding their own way to provide safe access. In fact, social clubs were not even covered as a business model under those bills. If the bills had passed, farms, markets, clubs and other non dispensary style medical marijuana locations might have had to choose between radically changing their business model or be forced to close their doors. One up side of our lawmakers in Lansing failing to act is that in some ambiguous way, places like GOT MEDS have the opportunity to reinvent new visions in the social cannabis community.