Native American Marijuana Sales Rise by Leaps and Bounds

Native American Marijuana SaleaPhoto by2nd Life Media

Marijuana sales within tribal communities is now a fast growing business opportunity. Nationwide, nearly 60 cannabis retailers are tribally owned. Currently, Native American tribes are operating marijuana businesses in nine states: California, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Washington. About three-quarters of tribes engaging in marijuana sales also own and operate casinos.

As of May 2024, there are 57 tribally owned medical marijuana dispensaries and adult-use stores in the nine states.

The number of tribally owned retailers has grown by roughly 25% since January 2023.

Many of these stores are located on tribal lands, but some are on non-tribal land.

The stores in the graphic above are owned by 47 different tribes, an increase of approximately 30% since January 2023.

In the state of New Mexico Pueblos of Picuris and Pojoaque signed an intergovernmental agreement with New Mexico that allows them to regulate their own marijuana enterprises operating within their communities and apply for state licenses for any business they would conduct outside tribal lands.

However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the Native American community. New Mexico's Cannabis Control Division in January took enforcement action against a Native-owned cannabis cultivation facility, revoking its licenses and imposing a $1 million fine.

Native American Agricultural Development Co., an operation linked to a Navajo businessman with a history of federal raids, faced allegations of numerous violations, including exceeding state plant count limits, inadequate inventory tracking, and unsafe conditions.

The facility, located in rural Torrance County, was found to have approximately 20,000 mature plants on-site — four times the state's permissible limit. An additional 20,000 immature plants were also noted. Violations encompassed security lapses, lack of chain of custody procedures, and substandard facility maintenance.

In a final order, the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department revoked the cultivation firm’s license and imposed a $1 million fine. Native American Agricultural Development was also instructed to immediately dispose of all cannabis and cannabis products on-site; cease all commercial cannabis activities except for waste disposal; surrender licenses by certified mail; and consider the order as a final decision for potential judicial review.

Total marijuana sales are growing by leaps and bounds nationwide. The number of cannabis consumers is likewise expected to grow in the United States: by 2025, the country is projected to have close to 50 million consumers. In 2018, the state of California was by far the leading American state in terms of legal, as well as illicit cannabis sales. The market for recreational marijuana in California amounted to some five and a half billion U.S. dollars in 2018. This was more than double the market size of New York. By 2024, the recreational cannabis market in California is forecast to reach 7.2 billion dollars.

In the United States, sales of legal recreational cannabis are expected to reach nearly 57 billion U.S. dollars by 2028. Legal marijuana sales are forecast to increase steadily with each consecutive year.