Shinnecocks May Grow Pot

Members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation voted last weekend to pursue growing medical marijuana and open processing and dispensary facilities for patients on their Southampton reservation.

According to news reports, the Shinnecocks hope to have the venture up and running by the end of the year, though the plan is subject to state approval. A majority also voted to hire Conor Green Consulting, a Chicago firm specializing in the medical cannabis industry, to help get the project underway.

Kelly Bennis, a tribal attorney, confirmed the vote, reporting that of 117 members who voted, 83 were in favor of the plan, while 34 voted against it. Neither Bryan Polite, the Shinnecock tribal chairman, nor their director of communications could be reached this week for comment.

The cultivation and distribution by prescription of medical marijuana products became legal in New York State at the start of 2016 under a new Compassionate Care Law. The law allows specially licensed physicians to certify patients with particular serious medical conditions as eligible for medical marijuana, which is provided in non-smokable forms. The drug has been shown to provide relief from pain, seizures, and anxiety.

Five companies have been issued state licenses allowing them to grow, process, and dispense marijuana. The Shinnecock medical marijuana operation, should it come to fruition, would join two others on Long Island, which have dispensaries in Riverhead and in Lake Success.

Under the state law, patients who have one of the designated “severe debilitating, or life-threatening conditions,” such as cancer, AIDS, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease, must be certified and registered with the state’s Department of Health in order to obtain a marijuana prescription.