Pubdate: Tue, 01 Mar 2016
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2016 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Contact: http://www.reviewjournal.com/about/print/press/letterstoeditor.html
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233
Author: Colton Lochhead

PLOT FOR POT

Paiute Dispensary to Be Built on Tribal Land Near Downtown

The Las Vegas Paiute Tribe is primed to open the state's first 
medical marijuana facility on Native American lands.

Right next to Downtown Las Vegas.

Tribal Chairman Benny Tso on Monday announced the tribe's plans to 
jump into the Southern Nevada medical marijuana industry full-bore this year.

The tribe partnered with New Mexico-based medical marijuana company 
Ultra Health to build the facility. Ultra Health operates six other 
facilities in Arizona and New Mexico.

Plans call for a 3,000-square-foot dispensary to be built just 
minutes from the heart of Downtown Las Vegas on the tribe's land near 
Main Street and Washington Avenue.

An 84,000-square-foot production facility and a 10,000-square-foot 
production center will be built on the Snow Mountain Reservation near 
the northwestern edge of the Las Vegas Valley, Tso said. The 
production center will also operate as a satellite dispensary. The 
tribe operates the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Club Resort, which includes 
a casino, on the reservation as well.

The group ceremonially broke ground at both locations Monday. Ultra 
Health President and CEO Duke Rodriguez said the $5 million project 
will be done by the end of 2016.

Rodriguez, who said he is in talks with over 20 other tribes across 
the Southwest, predicted that medical marijuana will be a 
game-changer for Native American business.

"I'm a big believer that cannabis in America on tribal lands will be 
bigger than gaming," Rodriguez said.

Talks about opening a medical cannabis joint on tribal lands started 
almost immediately after the Nevada Legislature approved the 
licensing of such facilities in 2013, Tso said.

Tso said the talks were more like jokes at first but quickly turned 
into serious discussions.

The group eventually settled on Ultra Health after Rodriguez sold the 
tribe on the science and medicinal benefits of cannabis, Tso said. 
Rodriguez said he had been in contact with the tribe for nearly 14 
months before the plans were announced.

While the company will be operating in Southern Nevada, it won't 
necessarily have to follow the same set of guidelines laid out by the 
state and local jurisidicitons.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are heavily regulated in Nevada, with 
standards in place for nearly every aspect of the process from 
cultivation to sale. The state limits the number of licensed 
dispensaries to 66.

But as a sovereign state that governs itself, the Paiutes get to do 
things a bit differently.

By entering into a partnership with the tribe, Ultra Health did not 
have to endure the same rigorous application process as other 
dispensaries in Las Vegas and Clark County.

But that's where the differences will stop, according to Tso.

"We're going to follow the same state guidelines as everyone else," he said.

Rodriguez said the dispensary could easily expand its client base 
later if the state approves recreational sale and use of marijuana.

Nevadans voted in favor of legalized recreational use in 2014, but 
the Legislature did not act on the bill, sending it back to voters. 
If the measure is approved again by voters in November, recreational 
use will become legal.

"The Paiute nation would be well postured to participate in that," 
Rodriguez said.

Tso said he wants the dispensary to become a staple in the medical 
field and believes the venture will be a boon for the 56-member tribe.

"Economically I think it's going to be a huge step forward," Tso said.

Once built, the Main Street dispensary will be one of the closest to 
the downtown tourist sector. And with the recent implementation of 
reciprocity, meaning Nevada will accept medical marijuana cards from 
other states, Rodriguez said he expects the facility to be a big tourist draw.

At least one dispensary near downtown is glad to see expansion of the 
cannabis industry, even if it means a little competition.

Michael Jameson, manager and co-owner of Las Vegas Releaf, said he 
would welcome the tribal dispensary "with open arms," and will reach 
out to them as they near their opening.

"We're just trying to improve the lives of our patients," Jameson 
said. "We hold no ill will towards them."

Rodriguez said he expects roughly 50 new jobs between the three 
facilities, eventually growing that number to exceed 100 as the 
operation blooms.

Tso said those jobs will first be advertised to tribal members before 
being opened to outside applications.

Review-Journal writer Sandra Chereb contributed to this report.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom