Pot-Friendly Music Venue Set to Open in Michigan

Michigan is about to break new ground, as the first state with a music venue where both alcohol and cannabis are sold and consumed.

Organizers of the 'Cannabash Music Festival' believe they've found a workaround to regulations that have restricted the use of cannabis products at venues that sell and serve alcohol.

New Pot-Friendly Venue in Baldwin, Michigan

Smelling weed at concerts is nothing new, as concertgoers have been lighting up at venues across the state for decades. But it's technically still not legal.

Although Michigan voters approved the use of recreational marijuana in Michigan in 2018, venues that sell alcohol - like Pine Knob and Little Caesars Arena - are required to restrict patrons from smoking pot at concerts and events.

But Grams & Jams, the organizer of Michigan's Cannabash Music Festival, plans to open a new venue in Baldwin, Michigan where both will be permitted. Baldwin is located about 44 miles southwest of Cadillac, Michigan.

A Venue With Both Cannabis and Alcohol

Connie Maxim-Sparrow is one of the founders of Grams & Jams. She tells Detroit Metro Times that her company decided to open its own venue called 'Field of Greens' that will accommodate patrons who consume either alcohol or cannabis.

Michigan liquor license regulations still prevent cannabis and alcohol from being sold and consumed in the same space. But Maxim-Sparrow says her company has found a temporary workaround.

Field of Greens will be built on approximately 30 acres that was once a gun range and driving range. The venue will be divided in half by a fence, with alcohol sales on one side and cannabis sales on the other. The venue will be a 21-and-up only facility.

“The music industry doesn’t know how to penetrate this cannabis event space,” she says. “But this is going to happen eventually, when cannabis becomes federally legal… The music industry will get into this, but they’re just really afraid of all of the regulatory. But that’s where we excel, is in compliance and regulatory.”

She says no official lineup has been released, but the venue hopes to open in the spring or summer of 2024.