{"id":67342,"date":"2023-08-01T11:21:19","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T19:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/08\/01\/minnesota-indian-tribe-launches-first-marijuana-sales-in-the-state-as-legalization-takes-effect\/"},"modified":"2023-08-02T19:47:23","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T03:47:23","slug":"minnesota-indian-tribe-launches-first-marijuana-sales-in-the-state-as-legalization-takes-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/08\/01\/minnesota-indian-tribe-launches-first-marijuana-sales-in-the-state-as-legalization-takes-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Indian Tribe Launches First Marijuana Sales In The State As Legalization Takes Effect"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be a huge economic driver for the reservation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Buy Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first legal sale of recreational marijuana in Minnesota<\/a> was made on the Red Lake reservation on Tuesday to a tribal employee before a throng of journalists and tribal leaders.<\/p>\n

Charles Goodwin, a Red Lake band member and employee of the tribal dispensary, selected some Nudder Budder and Caramel Creme\u2014two of 12 cannabis strains the tribe grows on the reservation in rural northern Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to be the first recreational customer,\u201d said Goodwin, who was also the first customer when the tribe opened its dispensary, NativeCare, for medicinal use in February.<\/p>\n

The sale was greeted by cheers and fireworks outside the dispensary, where more than a hundred people lined up to make purchases on the first day of legal adult-use marijuana in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

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Line outside and Red Lake\u2019s radio station WRLN is DJing pic.twitter.com\/2oZtQYFHxz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) August 1, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The tribe\u2019s new radio station, WRLN, blasted hip-hop from speakers in the parking lot and nearby a food truck handed out \u201cfree munchies\u201d\u2014hot dogs, cookies and water\u2014to customers and onlookers.<\/p>\n

John Webster showed up three hours early to be the first in line. He drove from eastern North Dakota and had never been to the Red Lake reservation before. He said he looked at the menu online but was still deciding which to purchase.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll get a variety of things and hopefully within a year or so there will be more dispensaries closer to home,\u201d Webster said.<\/p>\n

Red Lake\u2019s NativeCare is the only legal recreational marijuana dispensary in Minnesota<\/a>, as state officials have yet to establish a licensing system. That gives tribes at least a year\u2019s headstart in the green rush to stake a claim of what\u2019s projected to be a $1.5 billion industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud to be the first,\u201d Red Lake Tribal Secretary Sam Strong said. \u201cWe\u2019re excited for people to come onto the reservation.\u201d<\/p>\n

NativeCare charges $50 for 3.5 grams of standard strains, like \u201cPineapple Chunk\u201d and \u201cGlue,\u201d and $60 for premium strains, like \u201cHella Jelly\u201d and \u201cSuper F\u2019n Gassy.\u201d Customers must pay in cash and can purchase up to two ounces at a time, which is how much the state allows people to have in their cars.<\/p>\n

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The first recreational marijuana dispensary in Minnesota is about to open on the Red Lake reservation. 12 strains, up to 2 ounces per transaction, open to all pic.twitter.com\/sgitBpmWEU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) August 1, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Red Lake\u2019s tribal council voted to legalize recreational marijuana last month to coincide with the state\u2019s law, which does not apply to the tribe on its reservation. Red Lake does not have to charge the 10 percent sales tax on marijuana that other dispensaries will.<\/p>\n

Tribal leaders are optimistic about the economic potential of recreational marijuana for the tribe, one of the poorest in Minnesota. The reservation\u2019s remote location some 250 miles north of the Twin Cities and its prohibition on alcohol means its casinos are less profitable than those closer to cities.<\/p>\n

Strong said Red Lake plans to open two more dispensaries in the coming months on the tribe\u2019s trust land in Thief River Falls and Warroad, where it also has casinos.<\/p>\n

Tribal leaders declined to share how much revenue they expect to bring in, but said they employ about two dozen people in its grow operation and dispensary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be a huge economic driver for the reservation,\u201d said Jerry Loud, executive director of Oshkiimaajitahdah, which oversees economic and social well-being programs for the tribe, including NativeCare.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went from seed to sale in less than two years, and we are right there with Vireo and LeafLine,\u201d Loud said, citing the two non-tribal cannabis producers in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

Using marijuana in public is not permitted on the reservation although people may consume it in the tribe\u2019s hotel rooms designated for smoking. Strong said they also ask that visitors obey their other laws, including one barring non-members on backroads of the reservation or to fish, boat or swim on Red Lake.<\/p>\n

The White Earth Nation has also established a grow operation<\/a> and says it plans to open a dispensary in Mahnomen in the coming days, with two more possibly opening before the end of the year. No other tribes have announced plans to sell recreational marijuana.<\/p>\n

Tribes may also operate dispensaries off reservation land, which will be regulated through compacts negotiated with the administration of Gov. Tim Walz (D)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This story was first published by Minnesota Reformer.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Lawmakers Vote To End Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing For Most Government Jobs In U.S. Territory<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The post Minnesota Indian Tribe Launches First Marijuana Sales In The State As Legalization Takes Effect<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Minnesota Indian Tribe Launches First Marijuana Sales In The State As Legalization Takes Effect<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis is going to be a huge economic driver for the reservation.\u201d Buy Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer The first legal sale of recreational marijuana in Minnesota was made on the Red Lake reservation on Tuesday to a tribal employee before a throng of journalists and tribal leaders. Charles Goodwin, aContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67342"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67343,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67342\/revisions\/67343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}