Libby dispensary to open grow facility, storefront in Kalispell

When the owners of Libby’s sole medical marijuana dispensary recently went looking to expand their grow facilities, they had no plans of opening another store.

“It just so happened we found a place with a storefront,” said Barbie Turner, who, along with Jon Meister, owns and operates Alternative Releaf at 31906 Highway 2 in Libby.

Turner and Meister expect to open the new store, which is located at 2662 Highway 2 East in Kalispell, on Jan. 2, and the grow operation within weeks after that once the former body shop is properly converted.

They signed a 5-year lease on the building, and plan to hire five full-time employees “out of the gate.”

Meister said the 8,500 square-foot building will increase their current footprint by a factor of four and provide six times the production capabilities of their current grow facility at a Lincoln County location they prefer not to disclose.

The benefit for their existing customers, the couple says, will be a bigger selection of more products at lower prices.

“We knew we would expand eventually,” Turner said.

Hoping to expand and hire locally, she and Meister spent four weeks looking for a suitable location in Lincoln County but were unable to find an industrial building with sufficient space.

Looking within Libby city limits was not an option, the couple said. Even if a recently proposed ordinance to allow dispensaries within the city had passed the Libby City Council — it was voted down 4-3 on Sept. 5 — it would not have allowed for a grow operation.

“We wanted to expand here,” Turner said. “We couldn’t do that.”

The timing of their expansion plans was influenced by proposed changes to Montana medical marijuana rules and regulations that could go into effect in April. They wanted to be operational by then to ensure compliance, they said.

Under the proposed rules, dispensaries would be required to test marijuana products for heavy metals, pesticides and other items. The rules would also set licensing fees at $1,000 for providers with 10 or fewer patients and $5,000 for providers with more than 10.

The rules were made public earlier this month and are in response to legislation passed earlier this year. The state law requires the department to implement rules on testing, licensing, tracking and limiting marijuana and its providers.

Turner said the square footage of the new facility could allow them to expand even beyond Flathead Valley.

“We could feed at least two more storefronts,” she said.