Two of the eight medical marijuana dispensaries in North Dakota are now under new ownership… with a new name.

Medical marijuana was legalized in North Dakota in 2016. As of February 18, there are 4,796 registered medical marijuana patients in the state. The owner of Pure Dakota Health says he’s hoping to help more patients.

Casey Neumann, CEO of Pure Dakota Health says, the locations are both locally owned by both the cultivator and the manufacturer. He says this business model works better for everyone, especially for patient education purposes.

Neumann says, “It’s caring for the patient personally, getting to know them and making sure that when they leave here, they wholeheartedly feel like they had a great experience.”

A great experience because of the heart behind the business: the employees.

Neumann explains, “For instance, in our cultivation and manufacturing , every person that currently works for us, which is an excess of 20 people, are all originally from North Dakota, normally small towns or right from Bismarck here.”

All of the previous employees of Harvest will still work for the new owner. He says the team is cohesive and create a family atmosphere that’s welcoming for the patients.

Natalie Allery, the assistant GM at PDH in Bismarck says, “The new owners, they’re so involved. The days that we have been open, they’ve been here greeting people. Casey has just been amazing. So personable and it feels like home. It’s good to be a part of a family. It was just instant.”

They pride themselves on including the community in the family. The managers say they’re happy to sit down with community members any time if anyone is curious about medical marijuana or wants to know the benefits.

Ben Hecht, the general manager at PDH in Bismarck says, “We love the curiosity and we know there’s a lot of questions in the community and it’s important to us that our community knows we’re here to help answer those questions.”

Hecht says they hope to bridge the gap.

Hecht adds, “We want our community to know that we are a safe place, a place that is here to help people and really to help bring jobs and opportunities and growth to our community.”

Last week, the House passed a bill for recreational marijuana for those over 21. The owner of Pure Dakota Health says if it passes the Senate, nothing will change for the dispensaries. The North Dakota Department of Health will regulate both the medical marijuana and the adult program.