HOLLY, MI — Responding to concerns about the village’s two marijuana retailers, officials reassured residents Friday that Lume and Timber Cannabis would remain safely separated from the downtown area where adults are legally encouraged to carry alcoholic beverages through the streets.
Officials stressed that both dispensaries would remain indoors, sparing families from the disturbing sight of adults quietly purchasing a legal product and going home.
“We want families to feel comfortable downtown,” said Douglas Pike, the village’s director of acceptable intoxication, while standing beside a sign showing visitors where they could legally walk with an open beer. “That means keeping marijuana indoors and alcohol where it belongs: restaurants, festivals, and sidewalks.”
The village’s social district allows patrons to purchase alcoholic drinks and consume them outdoors, preserving Holly’s traditional family activities, including summer concerts, street festivals, and assuring children that the women stumbling past the bookstore are simply very enthusiastic about fermented grapes.
“At this time, there is no evidence cannabis customers are wandering downtown with open containers, yelling over live music, or becoming emotionally invested in a cornhole tournament,” the director said. “We intend to keep it that way.”