The Prairie Island Indian Community plans to open a cannabis dispensary this summer in Goodhue County, bringing legal marijuana sales closer than ever before to the Twin Cities.
Island Peži, as the shop will be known, will open near Treasure Island Casino next to the Dakota Station convenience store in Welch. Peži, pronounced "pay-zhee," is a Dakota word for "grass."
"Island Peži is a step forward in our efforts to diversify our economy and strengthen our tribe's long-term financial sovereignty," Prairie Island Tribal Council President Grant Johnson said in a statement. "We're excited to be among the first to enter the cannabis market and create new opportunities for the future of our tribe."
The tribal-owned corporation CBH Inc. will manage Island Peži and other cannabis ventures.
The Red Lake and White Earth Ojibwe bands opened adult-use cannabis dispensaries on tribal land last year, and the Mille Lacs Band is constructing a large marijuana growing facility near Grand Casino Mille Lacs.
The state's tribes have sovereignty over their marijuana markets and laws. Like other tribes, the Prairie Island Indian Community has formed its own cannabis regulatory commission to regulate and license legal cannabis on the reservation just outside of Red Wing.
Minnesota's Office of Cannabis Management is still setting up rules for the state's legal marijuana market, signed into law last year. Licensing should fully open early next year.
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