Photos show the early days of Detroit’s medical marijuana industry — before the crackdown

Aug 27, 2020 at 4:00 pm
Photos show the early days of Detroit’s medical marijuana industry — before the crackdown
Dave Jordano

Michigan voters approved the legalization of medical marijuana in 2008, and within a few years, dispensaries started cropping up all over Detroit — reaching a peak of nearly 300. Photographer Dave Jordano knew he had to act fast. "My sense was this new social experiment wasn't going to last long, so for three months, I documented nearly 100 shops knowing that if I didn't document them quickly, there would be no chance of capturing an era in Detroit’s history that came to an end just as quickly as it began," Jordano says.

You can see the full gallery here.

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