ESCANABA — Despite being banned by the city — at least for now — Escanaba’s first legal marijuana store opens today.

Lume Cannabis Co. announced Thursday it will begin offering cannabis products for adult-use customers in Escanaba and surrounding areas beginning at 10 a.m. The store’s opening will also include free coffee from UP North Roast Coffee and pastries from Stone Cup Coffee House & Stone’s Deli will be available.

Marijuana has been a frequent topic of debate in Escanaba since residents first voted to approve recreational use of the drug in November of 2018. While recreational use of marijuana by anyone over the age of 21 is legal throughout Michigan, retail sales and grow operations must be located in municipalities that have not “opted-out” of the law and Escanaba City Council meetings have often been the primary arena for residents to debate whether or not to allow the sale of marijuana products within the city limits.

Despite frequent public input on the issue, the council has been hesitant to make any firm decisions on whether or not to allow sales or grow operations. Instead, the council has repeatedly approved “temporarily” opting out of the law, with sunset clauses that would make the drug legal to sell if no action was taken by the council to reinstate the ban. The current sunset clause prohibits retail marijuana establishments until at least Sept. 16, 2022.

Residents who feel strongly about the issue can petition to put the sale of marijuana on the ballot at any time, regardless of whether the city has opted out of the law or not. If voters supported the measure — either to allow recreational sales or to permanently opt out of the law — it would dictate the legality of marijuana sales moving forward.

Still, even with the ban in place, Lume Cannabis Co.’s opening today is perfectly legal. The new store is located at 3405 Spruce Street, on tribal land owned by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, making it exempt from the city’s rules.

The store will be Lume’s 15th location in Michigan, third in the Upper Peninsula, and the second in the company’s partnership with the Sault Tribe. The first store opened in partnership with the tribe was opened in Sault Ste. Marie on Jan. 15. Four more stores on tribal land are planned within the next two years,

according to a posting on the tribe’s official website.

“At Lume, we pride ourselves on offering an unmatched variety of safe and high-quality THC and CBD products and we are excited to introduce our brand and show cannabis in a new light to adult-use consumers in Escanaba and throughout the Upper Peninsula,” said Doug Hellyar, president and COO of Lume. “We look forward to serving the cannabis needs of the entire Escanaba community and beyond.”

The store will be open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. All first-time customers will receive a 10% discount and a free 0.7g pre-roll. The first 100 customers will also receive a free Lume swag bag.

For more information about Lume Cannabis Co.’s Escanaba location, visit www.lume.com/escanaba.