Yeah, exactly, I am rolling whenever you're rolling.
All right, so you can just talk to me about him.
So tell me if we're in a location-wise,
where are we?
We're right on the border, right?
Yeah, we are right on the border here in Menominee.
I'm almost a throwing a rock distance away from Wisconsin.
Currently, this is a temporary location for us.
We wanted to get up and rolling
and start to serve the community as quick as we could.
You can see right next to this tent building,
we've got kind of the ground ready to go
for a permanent building,
which will be right here in the same spot.
But yeah, just a really optimal location.
We've been trying for a very long time
to get up and going here.
So we're kind of finally here and at that point.
So yeah.
How long has the business been around?
Our first retail location opened in February of 2021.
Our grow facility opened about a year,
year and a half prior to that.
So established, higher love,
established date is 2019,
but retail finally came into the mix in February of 2021.
So what has it been like being on the borders?
I mean, I'm assuming it's strategically located.
There's a lot of Wisconsinites coming over here.
Yeah, we love being on the border.
We're very fortunate, we're very lucky
that we have some wonderful border locations.
In fact, our first retail store in Crystal Falls, Michigan
is a border store.
So we found a lot of success
and it's just an additional community
that we get to serve,
the folks that are coming to us from Wisconsin.
We get to bring more people into the higher love family
and we're just happy to be able to provide the products
and services and supports for people from other states
and be nice and close to the border for convenience.
I mean, of course, ideally,
we would love to be down in Wisconsin
if and when the state ever decides to pursue that legalization.
We would love to be a part of the Wisconsin family too.
We're just not quite there yet.
So we're getting as close as we possibly can
and just trying to support the community.
So tell me about the strategy of putting billboards.
You're at 150, nearly 200 miles away.
I mean, it does that, it must work, right?
It does, it does.
I mean, we have, you know,
we are able to kind of visualize,
create some visualizations and some data
from where our customer base comes from.
And we're just so lucky that we have so many people
coming from all over the country.
I mean, it's fun looking at those maps sometimes
to see where the spots are lighting up for people,
from where they've traveled from.
But a good majority are folks from Wisconsin.
We get folks from Illinois, ironically enough.
We have folks from Minnesota.
You know, our Ironwood location is right on that,
you know, westernmost border for Minnesota.
So we get a lot of folks from there too.
So yeah, I mean, we just want people to know
that we're here, that we're a fun family,
a fun partner in the community to be involved with.
And yeah, the more we can advertise
and let people know that we're here, the better.
So Wisconsin has a couple of different bills in place
talking about the medical marijuana policy
or a full legalization.
Would either one of those impact,
or obviously full legalization one,
but the medical marijuana, is that something you deal with,
or would that be as simple as doctors know,
would then be what you need to call that?
So there, of course, medical marijuana
is we're happy to dive into that world as well.
And in fact, when we opened our first
Crystal Falls location, we had both licenses.
We could serve folks with medical cards
and folks who just have a driver's license and are of age.
So we have pursued both types of licensures historically.
Most of what we've found is that
with the changing of the industry,
price points tend to be the same,
dosages tend to be the same now.
There's the big dynamics that we saw
between a recreational license and a medical license
are now whittling down to what's the value in having both.
We do honor folks who come through with med cards.
The biggest perk to having a med card
is that there's no excise tax,
which is the additional tax on top of sales tax
that helps to contribute to the state resources
that are approving the licenses.
So in order to get a medical card,
there are a number of steps that an individual patient
has to go through.
You have to find a doctor who's willing and able
and ready to issue that card,
that approval or licensure, if you will.
And then we happily accept what anybody brings into us.
But most people, most of the time,
will find that there's almost no perks
to using the med card anymore
because we can offer the same type of price points,
the same type of products, whether you have that or not.
So that's been a nice adjustment
for our customer base as well,
is that you don't have to have that to come and see us.
Is it a perk for you, for sure,
to support you in your health and wellness journey,
but it's not required.
Have you had any conversations
with law enforcement from the Wisconsin side
about advice for people who shop here
and then travel back home?
What they should do to make sure,
one that they're safe and two
so they don't have their product?
Yeah, yeah.
Well, and that's the challenge, right?
Because Wisconsin has no reason
to not take that product from that individual.
So when we've got customers
that come to us from across state lines,
we always let them know,
this is what's legal for you to carry in your car,
this is what's legal for you to have possession of
at any given time,
and you need to keep it locked,
you need to keep it put away.
However, unfortunately,
if you are crossing state lines
and you do get pulled over and that product is seized,
that unfortunately is a chance that you have to take,
that they have to take.
But if our customers,
and they generally are very responsible
and very professional,
and I guess if professionals are right word to use,
but respectful of those laws
and the fact that they know that where they're heading,
it's not legal.
And no one wants to be in that light, right?
You know, the individual doesn't want to have to deal
with that, the company, you know,
we don't want the individual to have to deal with that.
So we do make sure to try to express to our customers
what to pay attention to if they are crossing that line.
And just reminding folks, you know,
we are happy you're here,
we're happy you're a part of our family,
but please be careful because the way that the structure
is in place right now and the laws
and the legality of it is now is unfortunately,
they can take that from you.
So just, you know, we just try to remind people
to be professional and respectful
to the authority figures in place
and knowing that they are unfortunately
having to take that chance.
And that's tough, that's tough for our customers,
that's tough for the industry.
It's for us as a company, we always promote cannabis
as a part of the wellness journey.
And we empower our customers to make their own medical
or health choices.
And cannabis is such a significant part of that
or can be a significant part of that.
So, you know, it's tough for us
because we want to try to expose as many people as possible
to be incredible benefits that the cannabis plant can offer.
And that's why we're willing
and why we appreciate being on the border
because it's a chance that we want to take
to get people feeling healthier
and better about themselves.
So in Wisconsin, there are CBD shops
that sell a Delta 10 and a Delta 8.
If you would, give me your version of what makes this product,
the real product different, better,
which is why, what a consumer should think of.
Like, well, at least this one's legal in the state
where I live, I don't have to drive multiple hours to get it.
How do you view those different?
Well, you know, we don't,
while there are regulations in place in Michigan
that really create a distinction between the types of components
that the cannabis plant can have for us to sell,
what we focus on is quality.
You know, we don't worry so much
about the innate minutia of the plant as much as we know
what we're regulated to offer within our stores.
And our standard is a high standard.
We have a lot of levels of approvals and eyes on the product
and people that test and sample the product
for certain effects, for certain feelings
to make sure that what we do keep in-house
is a quality product that is of regulatory standards
that meets the needs that it's proclaiming to provide.
So, you know, if it's a specific type of flower
that's supposed to be energetic,
is that the vibe that we get?
Is it a quality product to look at it?
Does it look beautiful?
Does it look like a solid product, a solid bud?
Does it have beautiful tricones?
You know, what is the color, the coloring to it?
You know, those are all things that we evaluate
as we source in products.
And we have a lot of people that believe
in what cannabis can offer.
And a lot of people that really try
and benefit from different things.
So, with that kind of multitude of people
that enjoy different products and strive for different effects,
we can have a really rounded approach to,
oh, this person finds that this gummy is really good.
Or this flower really gave that effect
that I was looking for.
This really helped with pain management.
So, it's things like that that we take into consideration
that drives the products that we have in-house
way more over than the components
of the cannabis plant itself.
So, for us, it comes down to quality
and it comes down to how we're regulated to operate.
And obviously, Wisconsin is a little bit different.
They've got, you know, they can have certain types
of CBD or hemp products and based on their own regulations.
So, you know, what we strive for is to really provide
that ultimate quality and that for us is first and foremost.
Anything else that you can think of
that would fit into what we've been talking about?
Sure, I mean, one of the things that higher love
is really proud of and is really committed to
is our mission and how we interact
with our neighbors in the community.
We have been able to offer donations
to 200 different organizations since our retail inception.
We have more than 750 hours of volunteer time
that our employees have put in,
whether it's roadside pickups or participating in fairs
and events or, you know, we just,
we really want to be a part of the community.
We're from this community.
We're happy to be here and we want people to come
and meet us and we want to meet you.
And for us being a part of that community
and really striving for our mission
has always been first and foremost.
That is always what we will strive for.
And it's really truly to empower people
on their wellness journey and allow them
to make those decisions for what they want to feel,
how they want to feel and expose them to products
and to different treatment options
that they might not otherwise be able to attain.
So for us being a part of the community,
being a good business neighbor,
being friends to those who walk through the door,
treating people with respect
and just continuing to be a part of the community
is always something that we will strive for.
And I do believe that that frame of thinking sets us apart.
You know, we're here, we're from here
and our goal is to be involved in the communities
that we're in.
All right, that was great.
Thank you so much.
You're very welcome.
Are you okay if we're able to go in and get some video
of some of the product that you have?
Yeah, I think that that would be fine.
Yep, we just need to-