Minnesota tribal nation seeks to expand marijuana sales
As Minnesota marijuana businesses move closer to approved legal sales, most tribal nations are negotiating with the state about expanding retail operations off reservations. FOX 9 reporter Collin Hoggard has the full story.
Summary: Marijuana adoption in Minnesota is in the final stages. Tribal operations have already begun on reservations, and most tribes are negotiating agreements to open cannabis operations off reservations. Potential competitors say they're OK with intertribal competition as long as standards are consistent across the world.
(FOX 9) – A Minnesota marijuana business is in the final stages of getting its license to open next year, but by the time it gets up and running, it may already have a competitor.
Businesses preparing for cannabis licenses
Crested River is a successful hemp business in Morgan, Minnesota, but owner Shawn Weber has his eye on the next natural move.
“I don't need to get into marijuana,” Weber said. “I want to get into marijuana.”
But his greenhouses are still empty as he prepares to expand into the marijuana business, although potential competitors could soon be starting up cultivation in nearby fields.
Tribal Cannabis Contest
“If we get the license, obviously we'll be a competitor,” Weber said.
Crested River is just a few miles from the soon-to-open Off The Path Pharmacy on the Lower Sioux Reservation.
But the competition could get even tougher.
Will the tribe leave the reservation?
The governor's staff confirmed that he is in negotiations with all but one of Minnesota's tribes to allow marijuana operations off reservations.
“Everybody's gearing up and saying, 'Hey, when are we going to get it? Are we going to get it properly?'” said Zach Wilson, who runs Wabiqwan Mashqiki, a White Earth Nation marijuana business. “We've taken a stance with the state that we're confident that at some point we'll be able to get an off-reservation dispensary license.”
Wilson's business grows, manufactures and retails marijuana on Mahnomen tribal lands, and he expects he will have to follow the same rules as other cannabis businesses in Minnesota when operating off the reservation.
They've already purchased the old J.L. Beers burger restaurant in Moorhead and have begun renovating it into a cannabis retail store.
What's the timeline?
They're hoping to get a head start on the competition, but Wilson doesn't think the state will weed anyone out before it starts issuing licenses.
“There's actually a lot of synergy because there's going to be a lot of social equity licenses being grown,” Wilson said. “They're going to have a brand. Yes, they're going to need a place to put their product, right?”
He also isn't worried that competition will destroy Mahnomen's business, in part because tribal law allows him to sell some items on the reservation that the state doesn't allow him to sell off the reservation.
They hope to reach an agreement with the state by the end of the year.
Weber says that if everyone played by the same rules, the market would work itself.
Competitors will find out next year whether there is enough room for them or if the market becomes saturated as it has in other states.
“We're certainly at a tipping point,” Weber said, “and I'm concerned about what some tribes are planning.”
Minnesota's license issuance timeline has not been finalized, but the first license lottery will likely take place later this year, with the first retail licenses expected to be issued by March.
