The kings of Lansterdam: How Pure Options and Pro Gro built a dynasty on old-school quality

In Michigan’s flooded cannabis market, Lansing’s own Pro Gro — the cultivation heart of the retail powerhouse Pure Options — isn’t just surviving; it’s dominating. Once again, the brand has swept the Top of the Town awards, proving that Lansing residents still favor craft product, grown by a crew with genuine roots in the region’s original caregiver community.

The victory is more than a trophy for Pro Gro/Pure Options flower; it’s a total validation of their seed-to-sale model. For a business that started small and stayed local, Pro Gro/Pure Options’ consistent victory lap is a powerful message to the national mega-brands moving into Michigan: You can’t buy this kind of credibility.

 

Top of the Town sweep: The Pro Gro medal count

Lansing voters spoke, recognizing the depth of Pro Gro’s quality across the board. Pro Gro and Pure Options secured numerous top-shelf wins across both cultivation and retail categories, making them the indisputable champions of “Lansterdam.” They racked up Best Cannabis Growing Brand and Best Retail Location, along with Best Concentrate (both solvent and non-solvent) and Best Hybrid and Indica.

This consistent quality is a legacy that Pro Gro is fiercely proud to have. Pure Options is Pro Gro, at least for our purposes, because they are owned by the same people. They represent a true seed-to-sale operation built on the meticulous standards of the old-school Lansing caregivers who first built the foundation for cannabis culture here. This isn’t corporate weed; it’s craft elevated to commercial scale.

 

The foundation: a cannabis kingpin’s territory

The roots of this dynasty are deeply local. The cultivation facility, Pro Gro’s massive operation, is housed not in some anonymous industrial park, but at a site with a true Lansing legacy: the former Pro Bowl bowling alley at 2122 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It’s a powerful symbol of repurposing local landmarks for a new, burgeoning industry.

The retail side also honors local history and caters to the true enthusiast. The Pure Options Lansing Midtown location (500 E. Oakland Ave.), which took the win for Best Indoor Grow Store, is essential for the cultivation community, as it is the primary location where the brand sells cannabis clones. This continuity from local growing supply to award-winning retail speaks to the brand’s commitment to Lansing’s cannabis heritage.

The man behind the operation, Sam Usman Jr., has been a pivotal force in the effort for legalization and for protecting the integrity of the cannabis industry in general.

Usman serves as a board member of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, an organization now locked in a high-stakes legal battle with the state. MiCIA is leading the charge in a major lawsuit fighting the impending 24% wholesale tax on cannabis. The organization argues that the tax is an unconstitutional violation of the voter-initiated 2018 law because it failed to secure the required three-fourths legislative supermajority. For local businesses already facing razor-thin margins, this tax is widely seen as an industry killer that threatens to push consumers straight back to the illicit market. Usman and MiCIA are leading the charge to stop it.

 

The edge: Concentrates and the reign of Rainbow Belts

The sweep wouldn’t be complete without recognizing the quality coming out of the lab. Pro Gro/Pure Options locked up the Best Solvent Concentrate category for their Rainbow Belts extract. Rainbow Belts is consistently recognized for delivering a clean, potent and intensely flavorful experience. It’s the product of an obsessive commitment to precision — from the flower used in the extraction process to the final, solvent-free purge — proving that in Lansing, the best stuff hits hardest and tastes the cleanest.

You can find the award-winning Pro Gro flower and concentrates at Pure Options’ Lansing locations: Lansing South (5815 S. Pennsylvania Ave.), the Lansing Midtown (500 E. Oakland Ave.), and East Lansing/Frandor (125 N. Clippert St.). They’re more than dispensaries; they’re the face of Lansing’s homegrown cannabis royalty.