The closest legal cannabis dispensary to the Twin Cities will open its doors Thursday on a reservation in Cass County. The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe passed a resolution in August 2023 allowing the sale of recreational cannabis for adult use within the reservation boundaries.
“We assigned a task force and then a commission was established and bylaws were created,” said Michael Michaud, chairman of the board of directors of cannabis company Leech Lake. “Once this was completed, the board of directors of the Leech Lake cannabis company were interviewed and selected.”
Michaud said they were able to open the cannabis dispensary within 60 days of the first board meeting.
It’s 182 miles or a little over 3 hours from downtown Minneapolis to the dispensary in Walker, just west of Leech Lake in Cass County.
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“It’s at the intersection of (Interstates) 371 and 200, which is a major thoroughfare for a lot of people coming north,” Michaud said. “We anticipate that with all the summer traffic that will come through that corridor, we will be extremely busy throughout the summer.”
Red Lake Nation’s dispensary, NativeCare, in Red Lake is 249 miles from downtown Minneapolis, while White Earth’s dispensary, Waabigwan Mashkiki, in Mahnomen is 235 miles.
The Prairie Island Indian Community plans to open a dispensary later this month, called Island Pezi, which would be the closest to the Twin Cities: about 45 miles away, or less than an hour’s drive.
Minnesota legalized recreational marijuana sales last year, but the state system won’t begin until 2025. Sovereign nations create their own cannabis ordinances, which allow for licensing and regulation within their own jurisdictions.
Budtender Nick Bacca serves a customer inside The Sweetest Grass, a new dispensary on the Leech Lake Reservation near Walker.
Melisa Olson | MPR News
Michaud says the tribe’s goal is to create more business opportunities for band members to open their own dispensaries in the future. I’m Clay Masters.
“The tribe’s ultimate goal through the resolution is to have individual entrepreneurship for individual band members to open their own dispensaries and grow their operations,” Michaud said.
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