ST. CLOUD — The White Earth Band of Chippewa’s second off-reservation cannabis dispensary is opening Wednesday in St. Cloud.
“It’s another historical moment,” said Zach Wilson, chief executive officer of Waabigwan Mashkiki, White Earth’s cannabis company, which opened its flagship dispensary in Mahnomen in 2023 and its first off-reservation store in Moorhead in May. “This has never been done in the country.”
The Waabigwan Mashkiki (“flower medicine” in Ojibwe) dispensary in St. Cloud is set to open at 10 a.m. Wednesday in a former LeafLine medical dispensary store at 141 33rd Av. S.
Wilson said all the products are made in Minnesota at a facility in Mahnomen. When the first two dispensaries opened, lines were out the door, and Wilson expects St. Cloud to be no different.
“It’s great for the tribe, and we hope the state enjoys our products,” he said.
Minnesota is the first to give tribes an early foothold in the recreational cannabis market by allowing tribes to operate dispensaries off-reservation. Wilson said it’s an unusual agreement that allows tribes to work side by side with the state and maintain sovereignty.
The compact, signed by Gov. Tim Walz in late May, allows White Earth to open up to eight retail dispensaries across the state. Wilson previously told the Star Tribune they are eyeing storefronts as far south as Mankato and Rochester.
But the agreements, while historic and celebrated in Indian Country, have been met with skepticism and pushback, with some saying it’s an unfair advantage for tribes.
