Smaller tribes like the Cayuga in central New York have also permitted sales, doing business out of the backs of gas stations, which have long been a reliable source of income for tribal governments. They are also preparing to open a gleaming new dispensary southwest of Syracuse on the edge of Cayuga Lake, the longest of the Finger Lakes.
More About Cannabis
With recreational marijuana becoming legal in several states, cannabis products are becoming more easily available and increasingly varied.
And last month, the powerful Oneida Nation — which runs the successful Turning Stone casino and resort just west of Utica — announced that it, too, would enter the pot business, promising a 50,000-square-foot cultivation and production facility, with retail dispensaries to follow.
For tribes entering the market, cannabis offers a chance at a reliable source of revenue, currently free of any governmental interference — giving tribal-run dispensaries a window to sell and advertise marijuana in ways that the state intends to prohibit for its licensed retailers.
“Because we don’t need a license from the state, because we don’t have to have permission to enter in the industry from the state, we are a true, authentic Native American cannabis business,” said Chenae Bullock, a Shinnecock member who serves as the managing director of Little Beach Harvest, the tribe’s fledging marijuana business. “This business is going to not only provide jobs, and establish careers in an industry, but also have business-to-business with other tribal members.”
So far, state officials have adopted a distinctly hands-off approach to tribal operations.
“What’s happening on tribal lands right now, it’s outside our purview,” said Chris Alexander, the director of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, adding, “That’s their land.”
As part of the 2021 budget deal, New York legalized recreational marijuana use after years of debate in Albany, joining a growing roster of states where the drug is legal (though federal authorities still view it as illegal). Since then, however, officials in New York have been criticized for their deliberative pace in setting up a marijuana marketplace, even as other neighboring states — including New Jersey and Massachusetts — have established dispensaries, raking in millions of dollars in tax revenue.
Mr. Alexander rejected the notion that the state has been too cautious in getting into the market.
“I’m actually really proud of the operation that we have here,” he said, noting that the state granted cultivation licenses in April. “And how quickly we’ve been able to get licenses out the door.”