The Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe of Nevada and Oregon will grow marijuana on its reservation to be used solely in the production of medical marijuana, the tribe’s chairman told KNPR’s State of Nevada.
“After serious consideration and countless discussions among our membership, leadership and expert consultants (we have) decided to enter the medical marijuana marketplace,” Chairman Tildon Smart said.
Smart said the tribe’s remote location doesn’t allow for many “economic opportunities,” leaving the tribe with an unemployment rate between 70 to 80 percent. He said the tribe is mostly supported by a small travel center than contains a mini market and gas station.
Smart said the 1,500-member tribe depends on the federal government for health care and other services.
“We must seize every legal opportunity available to the tribe to bring jobs, services and economic security to the grater community while lessening our dependence upon the federal government,” Smart said.
The tribe’s indoor cultivation facility is in the beginning stages of development and has not begun construction yet. The facility will be located some 40 miles from the Oregon border on the 35,000 acre Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, which is located along the border in Humboldt County, Nev., and Malheur County, Ore.
Smart said the tribe and its consultants have been working with the local, state and federal government to make sure the business will be compliant with all laws.
The tribe expects the facility to be fully operational by the second quarter of 2016.
Tildon Smart, chairman, Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe of Nevada and Oregon