There are people who are deeply drawn to the power and possibility of cannabis—Casey Kornoelje is one of them. In his high school years, Casey grew marijuana in his bedroom closet at home in Rockford, where he was living with his parents. Growing up in Alaska, his mom and dad operated a fishing boat business and lived a naturalistic lifestyle. “I’ve always been interested in cannabis,” he said. He continued to grow plants throughout high school and college—activities that resulted in a felony for marijuana possession (2002) and a misdemeanor charge (2004). In 2008 when Michigan established its medical marijuana program, Casey became a caregiver and grew for patients in the Grand Rapids area. He graduated from Grand Valley State University that same year. Casey took a position with a West Michigan bank and worked in commercial banking while growing cannabis for six patients. “My heart is really in medical marijuana,” he said. As a caregiver, he developed close relationships with his patients and felt as if he was truly able to help people with a variety of medical issues. Casey even met his wife through the power of cannabis, when he was randomly assigned her father as a patient. Like many caregivers, Casey had an “aha” moment that came from his skill in growing—an excess of product. He set his sights on creating a cannabis growing operation in Grand Rapids. With property in the marijuana zones being scarce and expensive, growing wasn’t his best option, so he explored opening a retail cannabis business.