Proposal 1 passage brings growing interest in growing pot to Michigan

NILES, Mich. -- Now that Michigan has become the tenth state in the nation and first in the Midwest to legalize recreational marijuana many are wondering what is next. It could be a year before it's ready for commercial sale, but people 21 and over can start growing their own plants as soon as the election results are certified.

Lush Lighting is a specialty shop in Niles that sells all the tools you need to grow plants and vegetables indoors. Now that Proposal 1 has passed growing pot is helping to grow a whole new segment of their business.

Lush lighting opened its doors back in 2014. The legalization of recreational marijuana was always something owner Matt Johnson saw on the horizon.

“ I always hope for the best and I believe this is the best thing that can happen for Michigan right now," said Johnson. "So I always hoped this day would come“

With that hope now a reality Johnson is trying to keep up with interest from people looking to dive into the world of growing pot.

“All my employees have said that they have been tons of phone calls and people coming in with a lot of questions. People old. People young. Lot of different demographics," said Johnson. "Everybody is curious now that the law is passed they’re wondering when can they start to grow and what are the legal perimeters around that.”

Once the election results are certified anyone 21 and older can grow up to twelve plants at home. There are restrictions. You can’t sell it and the plants can’t be visible from any public area. It also must be grown in a secure location.

With winter on the horizon that makes indoors the best option, but you need the right tools.

“The first thing you need is grow lights and then your soils, your containers, your nutrients," said Johnson.

Johnson supplies all those in things in his stores, but most importantly he offers knowledge.

“The temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, watering cycles, temperatures of your water -- they all play factors in how well the plant can grow," said Johnson.

For Johnson the most important thing is safety. Bringing in new equipment to your home always has an element of danger if you aren’t using it properly.

He’s now trying to decide whether offering marijuana growing lessons could be beneficial as the interest increases.

“There’s going to be masses of people now and we see that with the phone ringing and people coming in more regularly with a lot of questions -- so we may have a class pretty soon," said Johnson.

In the meantime Lush does offer one on one consultations to help answer any questions you may have.