A brand new dispensary in Nevada claims that it is the “Largest marijuana store on the planet”.
While situated in downtown Las Vegas, the store is actually on tribal lands, off of Main Street and Washington Avenue.
Officials say that since the dispensary is tribe owned and self regualted, while clients will be paying the same amount of taxes on product- instead of revenue going to the state, it will go directly to the tribe who will invest it in their community.
As Adam Herbets for Fox reports:
Many people didn’t realize the tribe owned land in the area.
The 31-acre plot is small, but there’s nothing small about the built-from-scratch NuWu Cannabis Marketplace on Paiute Circle.lqaa1
“NuWu actually means ‘the people,’” explained Chris Spotted Eagle, the vice-chairman of the tribe.
The tribe’s chairman, Benny Tso, laughed while explaining some of the recent changes made in drug-testing policies on the reservation.
“I actually bought the first product out of our store,” Tso said. “I bought some Willie’s Reserve and Skywalker OG.”
Customer Davi Digitelli said he was so excited with the amount of merchandise that he was going straight to bed after his visit.
“I have really bad sleep problems, and the first time I took an edible I slept nine hours straight,” he said, “It’s kind of been my thing ever since… they have everything I’m looking for, everything I’m not looking for, and everything else in between.”
Other than the size, the biggest difference between most Nevada dispensaries and NuWu has to do with taxes and regulations.
“We regulate ourselves, but it’s pretty much a mirrored image of Nevada,” Tso said. “I know we’re under a microscope, so I think our regulations and our restrictions are a little bit tighter than the states… We just want to be in the business just like everybody else. We want to be fair.”
“It’s a great revenue stream, and I hope the money is used wisely,” said customer Stephen Shorts.
A manager at the dispensary said customers will pay the exact same amount in taxes, but the money will go to the tribe instead of the state. He said the money will go toward things like health services.
Who knows what the future holds for NuWu, but officials say that plans to establish a drive thru and service customers 24/7 are in the works.
What are your thoughts on a tribal owned dispensary? Is it something that you would support, given that revenue will go towards the betterment of the Paitue people? Let us know what you think and leave a comment below.