Cover Story: Vehicle City Social - by Kathy Hess

   

     If you’ve been hesitant to visit a medical cannabis club, or you’ve ventured out and frequented a few but were turned off by the lack of professionalism and/or open and friendly vibe, then look no further.  Vehicle City Social is the club you’ve been searching for.

    Vehicle City Social has just about everything you could want in a medical cannabis club.  They offer access to services such as certifying physicians, message therapy and a gathering place for caregivers and patients.  All in the friendliest, safest and most professional of atmospheres. They also offer a menu from a full kitchen, an arcade, pool tables and dart leagues.  I know, you’re thinking, “Wow! This place sounds amazing.” It is.

But that’s not all.

     On top of providing an avenue for helpful information to pass between caregivers and patients alike, and for people to smoke freely, this club also hosts a variety of musical and comedy events, has a 13-foot-wide projection screen with plenty of leather recliners to chill in. It also stands as a Veteran Resource Center. Vehicle City Social hosts seminars, bringing in experts from the field to further your knowledge in this ever growing and changing industry.  It also hosts friendly, social competitions that allow some the ability to earn trophies to showcase and support their boasting.  All under the caring eyes of a security team that monitors the entire property.

     Steve Craven, one of Vehicle City Socials five founders (he is also the co-founder and partner of SkunkwerksRx) and the hands-on guy, who worked in the financing sector before moving into the medical marijuana industry, wanted to bring some professionalism to a commerce often plagued by old stoner stereotypes.  His business acumen appears to be making a difference.  The staff has matching uniforms, the security team is visibly present.  The chairs match.  I might easily mistake myself for being at a happening bar and grill (minus the alcohol) except I can’t smell the wonderful food I see on plates through the heavy perfume of dabs and buds in the air.  But I don’t mind, as it smells wonderful, and the smiles on everyone’s faces tells the same.

  
     I happened to visit Vehicle City Social during one of their special events, the Dab-a Doo-2017.  A
social affair where dabs and concentrates were on display as well as friendly competitions involving tested lab results and a panel of judges. So today, at this club that is open seven days a week, there are not only caregivers and patients sitting comfortably in a restaurant/club style venue, there are vendors and contestants set up in booths throughout the building. As I wandered around the place and talked to the patrons; caregivers, patients, vendors and the like, they steadily raved about Vehicle City Social.  All consistently commented on the friendly and qualified staff, of the wonderful vibe, in a clean and professional setting.  For many of them this was a return visit, one patron boasted about stopping in four to five days a week.  Considering the event, and the draw it brought from all over the state, there were also several patrons that were visiting Vehicle City Social for the first time.

     One of those first-time visitors was Mila Jansen, the Queen of Hash, all the way from Amsterdam!  Mila is also the founder of Pollinator, a company that continues to make innovations in the trichome extraction industry.  Not only did she invent and patent the Pollinator, the Ice-O-Lator and the Bubbleator she happens to be a pretty cool lady.  Even as a much-respected celebrity in the cannabis

community, and world traveler of Dab-a-Doo and other events, Mila was impressed with Vehicle City Social.  The Queen of Hash commented on Michigan’s ability to perform laboratory test on contest samples for content and purity, something still illegal in the Netherlands. Laboratory results put a new twist on the friendly competition of which she was one of the judges.  She also praised the club and expressed having a great time at the event. “We [Amsterdam] have coffee shops, but nothing as nice as this.  No leather recliners, we have wooden benches,” she said with a chuckle.  “I wish we had clubs like this in Amsterdam.  But it’s still technically illegal to grow. I love how open everyone here can be about it, to share your experiences.”

     Over all I was impressed with Vehicle City Social, and the Dab-a-Doo 2017 event. We can only hope that we see more clubs like Vehicle City Social open across the state.  Flint, and Genesee county, is lucky to have an establishment like this readily available to its residents.

You can find Vehicle City Social on Facebook, Twitter & YouTube, or go to vehiclecitysocial.com for more information, location and calendar of upcoming events.