In Michigan, Native American tribes are finding ways to take advantage of the growth of the recreational and medical cannabis markets.
Last year, lawmakers passed legislation allowing the state’s 13 tribes to apply for a license with the state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency as growers, processors, cannabis testers or transporters of the product. The tribes also can sell recreational marijuana, with a share of tax revenue returned to the tribes.
Tribes must follow federal Bureau of Indian Affairs regulations that only apply to them. As sovereign nations, there are different rules for producing, cultivating and selling products from the land they own.
In March, Michigan’s cannabis industry reported $250 million in sales for medical and recreational use, according to state figures. Analysts predict cannabis sales could reach $2 billion in total sales for 2023.
Several Michigan tribes already are participating, and profiting. For example, Bay Mills Indian Community’s Northern Lights Cannabis Company operates a store in Sault Ste. Marie. In addition, the tribe has a grow facility of 10,000-plus plants on its reservation, and plans to add a cannabis processing facility.
Bay Mills Tribal Chairman Bryan Newland said Northern Lights Cannabis Company “is completely independent of our gaming business. We financed it with investment capital and it is a diversification of our current business holdings.” The tribe operates the Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley,
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians opened the Rolling Embers cannabis retail store and lounge on tribal land in New Buffalo in April. The new 3,000-square-foot store also offers a 1,400-square-foot outdoor space for cannabis consumption, with food trucks and special events. The venue employs 14 people. The tribe operates three casinos in Michigan under the Four Winds brand name in Dowagiac, Hartford and New Buffalo.
The Grand Traverse Bay Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians debuted its Beach Fire Cannabis store next to its Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel in Acme Township on March 30. The tribe also operates Leelanau Sands Casino in Peshawbestown.
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians’ Lume Cannabis Company on tribal land in Sault Ste. Marie grows, processes and sells adult-use recreational and medicinal cannabis. At the store’s grand opening in 2021, Lume President and Chief Operating Officer Doug Hellyar said, “At Lume, we pride ourselves on offering an unmatched variety of safe and high-quality THC and CBD products and we are excited to introduce our brand and show cannabis in a new light to adult-use consumers in Sault Ste. Marie and the eastern Upper Peninsula.” The tribe owns and operates Kewadin Casinos in Hessel, Christmas and Saint Ignace.
