Michigan family turns their Up North deer camp into a cannabis dispensary

Built by hand on old Northern Michigan hunting property, American Grown Cannabis proves that great weed can grow anywhere—even in the middle of nowhere.

TURNER—By the time Waze told me I’d arrived, I was pretty sure it was lying. 

I hadn’t seen another car (or another human being) for a good 10 minutes. Just dirt roads, leafless trees, barren fields, and the occasional white-tailed deer watching me cruise by like I was lost. Which, to be fair, I kinda was; I don’t spend much time in this pocket of the state.

Then, the trees opened up and there it was: a big, bright-red, metal barn with a blue door and a sign that read “NOW OPEN.” This is American Grown Cannabis: part dispensary, part grow operation, and hands-down the most middle-of-nowhere pot shop I’ve ever visited in Michigan.

Lost and found in Turner

From the road, it looks more like a tractor repair shop than a dispensary. Minimal signage, no glass storefront, certainly no sleek Apple Store aesthetic that most retailers like to mimic. 

Kyle Kaminski/The ‘Gander Newsroom

But inside, it’s cozy and familiar with wood paneling everywhere, classic rock playing on the radio, and a front counter lined with bags of house-grown weed that locals buy by the ounce.

And despite the bold, red-white-and-blue branding, this isn’t some ‘Merica meme dispensary blasting Fox News in the lobby. Co-founder David Pardun tells me the name is an homage to the city of Westland’s “All American City” slogan, back when he had plans to open downstate.

Courtesy/American Grown Cannabis

When those dreams blew up, he and his business partner Dan Pollock took the same brand Up North to the family hunting property in Turner. And somehow, it fits even better out here.

“We’re everyday people,” Pardun said. “It’s the hometown roots, the family aspect, sort of picking yourself up by your bootstraps, doing it for ourselves. The name represents us well.”

From deer camp to grow house 

American Grown sits on 160 acres that used to be known primarily for deer, not dank.

Courtesy/American Grown Cannabis

“This all used to be my grandpa’s hunting land,” Pardun said. “And in my family, we grew up with a little bit of that ‘devil’s lettuce’ mindset, reefer Madness vibes. But then, my grandpa got sick.”

Pardun’s grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The family turned to Rick Simpson Oil (RSO)—a potent cannabis extract—and Pardun said it ultimately kept his grandfather comfortable toward the end of his life. That experience also flipped a switch in his family.

“We really saw the real, medicinal side of cannabis,” Pardun explained. “There was also this new industry starting, almost anybody could get in, and on top of it, we could help people.”

Before weed, Pardun worked in bail bonds and construction, an unlikely combination that he said turned out to be perfect for building a cannabis company from scratch. When the family decided to go all-in on American Grown in 2021, the hard construction skills came with them.

“We literally built this facility from the ground up,” Pardun explained. “We dug the trenches, poured the concrete, ran the plumbing. Blood, sweat, and tears. And all with our own money.”

A barn built like a lab

Step through the blue dispensary door and you’re in the middle of small-town Michigan. 

There’s a deer head on the wall. Locals get greeted by name. Prices are down-to-earth: about $50-$65 ounces of house flower that would easily cost more in Ann Arbor or Grand Rapids.

Walk through the back door, though, and the vibes change fast. To take a quick tour of the attached growing operation on site, I had to suit up: booties, gown, the whole deal. 

And before I walked inside, Pollock asked me a question I’ve never been asked in any other grow facility in Michigan: “When was the last time you toured another grow?” He wasn’t making small talk. He was gauging my cross-contamination risk. 

And that’s when I knew it was the real deal.

Kyle Kaminski/The ‘Gander Newsroom

The rooms themselves were spotless: bright white walls, rows of plants, and fans humming above. It all felt less like a barn and more like a science lab that happens to be full of weed.

Pollock says the whole operation relies on beneficial insects, bacteria, and fungi instead of harsh pesticides and other chemical sprays. And with every room fully automated, it makes it easy for him to fine tune light, heat, and humidity levels to achieve the ideal harvest.

Kyle Kaminski/The ‘Gander Newsroom

At any given time, there are roughly 1,300 plants inside, plus another 400-500 outdoors during the season. The indoor flower is sold under the main American Grown label. The sun-grown crop gets its own line called Campfire, mostly just for joints and budget-friendly ounces.

Plus, American Grown has also partnered with other companies—like Freds Lab and Legit Labs—to produce its own array of pre-rolled joints, disposable vapes, and concentrates. 

Making it rain (literally)

Pardun says growing weed out in the middle of nowhere has its perks, including lower property taxes, supportive township officials, and neighbors who mostly smell money, not trouble.

“In town, when people around here smell cow sh*t, they smell money. That’s farming.” Pardun said. “Maybe we all need to retrain our noses so when we smell cannabis, we smell money too.”

Kyle Kaminski/The ‘Gander Newsroom

But the old hunting property also came with a big drawback: no easy access to water.

Instead of trucking in endless tanks, Pollock said he helped design a closed-loop system for the cultivation operation. The facility reclaims and filters water from the grow itself, captures rainwater, and runs everything through intense filtration before it ever reaches the plants.

It started as a survival tactic. Somewhere along the way, it became a sustainability win.

“Was being environmentally friendly the original push? No. Maybe not,” Pardun said. “But it works. We’re not wasting water and the plants are happy. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

All in the family 

Behind the brand, American Grown is about as “mom and pop” as it gets. 

There are six employees and four hands-on owners, including Pollock and Pardun. Other relatives are involved as advisors. And in the early days, when they couldn’t afford to hire more staff, the whole extended family would drive up on weekends to help buck and trim.

“I’ve had my dad standing there going, ‘What the hell am I doing?’ and I’m like, ‘Dad, just grab the stem and pull the weed off,’” Pardun said. “We just did what we had to do to keep it moving.”

Kyle Kaminski/The ‘Gander Newsroom

American Grown is self-funded, too—no big investors, no corporate parent company. And in a tumultuous market where many large operators are cutting corners or pulling out of Michigan altogether, that independence is both a blessing and a burden, Pardun explained.

“We’ve gone months without getting paid,” he said. “We sacrificed ourselves to keep this thing running. But it means we decide our own fate. Nobody tells us what to grow or how to run it.”

Dreaming bigger

For now, American Grown operates two dispensaries: the original red barn in Turner and a newer, flashier shop in East Tawas. But Pardun’s long game stretches far beyond ounces and pre-rolls. He wants to turn this quiet hunting property into a statewide cannabis destination.

“Traverse City became Traverse City because of grapes and the wineries,” Pardun said. “There’s no reason that this area couldn’t do something similar with cannabis.”

The vision: glamping-style campsites scattered across the 160 acres—with yurts, tiny cabins, maybe even brand-sponsored “campsites” named after different Michigan cannabis companies. Guests could fish the stocked pond, ride hay wagons out to outdoor fields, tour the indoor grow, and learn how their weed is actually made. Then, at the end of the day, they could smoke it, too.

It’s still just a sketch on a map for now. But if it happens, it could cement American Grown as more than just Michigan’s most remote dispensary. It’d be proof that the future of cannabis in this state isn’t only in strip malls and industrial parks; it’s also down long dirt roads, in small towns, with families betting everything on a plant they once grew up being told to fear.

Kyle Kaminski/The ‘Gander Newsroom

Driving back toward civilization, it hit me: If our cannabis industry has a future, it probably looks more like this—homegrown, sustainable, and run by people who actually live where they grow.

The rest of the state can keep their glass storefronts and loyalty apps.

I’ll take the red barn, the good weed, and the long dirt road any day of the week.

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