The Clinic's Lakewood location is finally serving recreational customers after receiving approval from the city.

Operating in Lakewood as a medical marijuana dispensary since 2014, the Clinic at 3600 South Wadsworth Boulevard was the only one of the local dispensary chain's four stores that didn't offer recreational sales. After Lakewood voters approved recreational pot sales last November, however, the Clinic started transitioning to add recreational sales.

After an interior renovation to get the building up to code while continuing to offer medical marijuana and going for a recreational license, the Lakewood Clinic made its first recreational sale earlier this month, according to marketing director Lauren Carter. Now it plans to host a grand-opening event from Thursday, July 22, through Saturday, July 24.

As Colorado's marijuana market continues to tilt toward more recreational products and less medical marijuana business, attaining a recreational sales license is essential to stay competitive in metro Denver, Carter says. A law passed by the Colorado Legislature earlier this year will bring new restrictions to medical marijuana physician recommendations and dispensary purchases, making the move to recreational sales even more valuable.

"It's incredibly important to serve recreational customers. These days, you have a large amount of people getting cannabis who don't have their medical cards," Carter says. "Now we can really reach more people."

Given the Lakewood store's location, Carter believes the addition of a recreational component will pay off quickly. "We're so close to Highway 285," she says. "If people are going to or coming back from the mountains, it's an easy place to stop over." In fact, people headed to and from the mountains regularly stopped in to buy recreational pot, but the store had to turn them away...until now.

With the Lakewood store's conversion complete, the Clinic will now focus on renovating its Highland and East Colfax Avenue dispensaries, Carter adds.

The Clinic is the fifth Lakewood dispensary to open for recreational sales, according to Lakewood Public Information Officer Stacie Oulton, following Ascend Cannabis, Golden Meds, Kaya Cannabis and Levels. The city's five other medical dispensaries have not applied for recreational licenses, she adds.