Minnesota state lawmakers approved adult-use cannabis in 2023, but retail dispensaries have yet to open—except on tribal lands. The vast majority of these retail locations are in rural locations, save for Island Pezi, which sits roughly an hour south of the Twin Cities metro area. Now, the unique marijuana market is set to hit a significant milestone with the opening of its first off-reservation tribal dispensary.
As first reported in the Minnesota Star Tribune, the White Earth Band of Chippewa plans to open a cannabis store in Moorhead near the North Dakota border within a matter of days. The tribe finalized a compact agreement with Minnesota officials earlier this week. A second store, roughly one hour north of Minneapolis in Saint Cloud, is coming soon.
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Closed-door negotiations around tribal compacts have remained ongoing for months. The Star Tribune reports several more tribes are expected to sign agreements within the next couple of weeks.
The White Earth Nation compact gives the tribe some autonomy to create its own cannabis regulations, but facilities will be subject to annual state inspections. Dispensaries off the reservation will be subject to state and local taxes, but the Star Tribune notes a revenue-sharing agreement between the tribe and the state could be adopted in the future.
The tribal compacts are a unique component of Minnesota’s emerging cannabis space. The integration of tribal operators and state-licensed businesses is something other markets could model in the future. Eric Taubel, interim director of the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management, told the Star Tribune the compacts are a “nation-leading approach.”
“We’ll be the first state where not only are tribes operating cannabis businesses off tribal land, but they’re also doing so under tribal regulatory authority,” he said.
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The Land of 10,000 Lakes continues to emerge as a cannabis industry marching to the beat of its own drum. Minnesota became one of the first to serve weed beverages alongside alcohol in bars and restaurants with the regulation of so-called “low-dose” hemp THC products in 2022. That model is also being explored in other markets across the country.
Tribal compacts could be the next wave of innovation coming from the Midwest. According to recent data, one in four Indigenous American tribes in the U.S. is involved with cannabis or hemp in some way. Minnesota could help set the stage for these sovereign nations to integrate successfully with states, ushering a new group of cannabis entrepreneurs into the evolving space.
