Pubdate: Wed, 30 Sep 2015 Source: Seattle Times (WA) Copyright: 2015 The Associated Press Contact: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409 Author: Regina Garcia Cano, The Associated Press SOUTH DAKOTA TRIBE SETTING UP NATION'S FIRST MARIJUANA RESORT FLANDREAU, S.D. (AP) - The Santee Sioux tribe has already proven its business acumen, running a successful casino, a 120-room hotel and a 240-head buffalo ranch on the plains of South Dakota. But those enterprises have not been immune to competition and the lingering effects of the Great Recession, so the small tribe of 400 is undertaking a new venture - opening the nation's first marijuana resort on its reservation. 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 America 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 under way on the growing facility. The first joints are expected to go on sale Dec. 31 at a New Year's Eve party. The legalization of marijuana on Santee Sioux land came in June, months after the U.S. Justice Department outlined a new policy that allows Indian tribes to grow and sell marijuana under the same conditions as some states. Many tribes are hesitant to jump into the pot business. And not everyone in Flandreau, about 45 miles north of Sioux Falls, believes in the project. But the profit potential has attracted the interest of many other tribes, just as the debut of slot machines and table games did almost 27 years ago. "The vast majority of tribes have little to no economic opportunity," said Blake Trueblood, business-development director at the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. For those tribes, "This is something that you might look at and say, 'We've got to do something.' " Flandreau's indoor-marijuana farm is set against a backdrop of soybean fields. If not for a security booth outside, the building could pass as an industrial warehouse. Inside, men are working to grow more than 30 different strains of the finicky plant, including those with names like "Gorilla Glue," "Shot Glass" and "Big Blue Cheese." Pot plants are prone to mildew and mold, picky about temperature and pH level and intolerant of tap water. So the Santee Sioux have hired Denver-based consulting firm Monarch America to teach them the basics. Even in states such as Colorado and Washington, where pot is fully legal, consumption in public places is generally forbidden, although pro-pot activists are seeking to loosen those restrictions. Colorado tolerates a handful of private marijuana clubs. Unlike the vast reservations in western South Dakota, where poverty is widespread, the little-known Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation is on 5,000 acres of gently rolling land along the Big Sioux River. Trailer homes are scarce and houses have well-trimmed lawns. The Santee Sioux hope to use pot in the same way that many tribes rely on casinos - to make money for community services and to provide a monthly income to tribal members. The existing enterprises support family homes, a senior-living community, a clinic and a community center offering after-school programs. Reider hopes marijuana profits can fund more housing, an addiction-treatment center and an overhaul of the clinic. Some members want a 24/7 day-care center for casino workers. 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom