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For the longest time, Indian reservations have generated revenue for the tribes living on them by allowing legalized gambling. Casinos exist on many Indian reservations, but whether they are a net positive is a matter of deep debate.
Sure, they bring in money, but with them come an assorted host of other issues: they can attract unsavory characters, create problems with drugs and alcohol, and exacerbate poverty within communities.
Hey you know what doesn’t do that? Drugs!*
*Statement not independently verified.
Since reservations can make essentially whatever laws they want (see above asterisk), why not turn your reservation into a drug destination?
That’s what the Santee Sioux are doing, building America’s first marijuana resort, Six Joints over South Dakota (it doesn’t have an official name yet). Via the Associated Press:
Santee Sioux leaders plan to grow their own pot and sell it in a smoking lounge that includes a nightclub, arcade games, bar and food service, and eventually, slot machines and an outdoor music venue.
“We want it to be an adult playground,” tribal President Anthony Reider said. “There’s nowhere else in American that has something like this.”
The project, according to the tribe, could generate up to $2 million a month in profit, and work is already underway on the growing facility. The first joints are expected to go on sale Dec. 31 at a New Year’s Eve party.
Yeaaaah. Why wouldn’t you plan a bachelor party there? The tribe is growing over 30 strains to be served on the premise, and have brought in Denver-based consultants to help them with harvest and yield. Pot use will be sort of strictly controlled at the resort, but who cares?
The marijuana cannot leave the reservation, and every plant in Flandreau’s growing facility will have a bar code. After being harvested and processed, it will be sold in sealed 1-gram packages for $12.50 to $15 — about the same price as the illegal market in Sioux Falls, according to law enforcement. Consumers will be allowed to buy only 1 gram — enough for two to four joints — at a time.
Want another gram? The bar-coded package of the first gram must be returned at the counter.
Whatever, that’s still 1,000 times better than needing a Colorado ID or some shit to buy pot there.
In case you are wondering, the closest airport appears to be in Sioux Falls, 45 minutes away.
I’ll see you there.