Three New Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Approved in GR

The City of Grand Rapids has approved three new medical marijuana dispensaries, with two approved for growing,  MLive reports.

The three locations are at 330 Ann St. NW, 2350 29th St. SE, and 910 28th St SE.

The 28th St location ran into some snags along the way. For instance, the location is pretty close to a public park and two churches. Being that any dispensary must be at least 1,000 feet from any public park or religious institution, a waiver had to be approved.

Luckily for the business, the waiver was given the "green" light. The business even got the churches blessing. Co-pastor Ricky Velazquez said,

"We came to the conclusion to go and support this, because we thought it doesn't affect our faith and our process and our worship."

But not everyone was cool with the new proposal. The Bosnian Cultural Center opposed the waiver saying the store "goes against our faith traditions and values." However, no representatives from the center showed up to the Thursday Planning Commission meeting to voice their opinion. The waiver was approved stating no evidence was shown that the dispensary would negatively impact the mosque and it's activities.

According to MLive, GR has approved 14 medical marijuana facilities so far, with more still awaiting review.