After months of waiting, the medical marijuana dispensary in Poplar has opened it’s doors for business.
Wild Sky Farms, a company based out of Glasgow, has been open for business for a couple of weeks and since it’s doors have opened there has been no shortage of customers.
Donny Moran, Store Manager for the Poplar dispensary, said he keeps the doors open until 8 p.m., the latest he is allowed to sell under law.
This all started with Moran, who wanted to build some kind of dispensary in Poplar. Other dispensaries have been coming onto the reservation but they ignored Poplar when looking for potential shops. Until Wild Sky Farms came, all of the dispensaries were set up in Wolf Point and people who need it had a harder time accessing this medication because of the distance.
Moran said he went looking for a dispensary that would partner with him in supplying marijuana. When he told them he was based in Poplar, they would not want anything to do with him.
Burglary and crime is reported at higher rates in Poplar and Wolf Point, however in Poplar there seems to be a certain kind of fear of losing their livelyhood to burglaries and/or arson.
Then he met the owner of Wild Sky Farms. After explaining what he wanted to do, Moran formed a partnership with the company. It’s this company that supplies the dispensary with marijuana products.
When the partnership was formed, the next step was finding and renovating a building.
On Main Street in Poplar, there is the empty former Fort Peck State Bank building. Over time, it has been used by others including a dentists office and a community newspaper.
Since security is a huge concern, the new dispensary has been equipped with a state of the art surveillance system. Certain other precautions have also been taken for security sake.
Business
The first week of business for the dispensary has been great. People have welcomed the opening of the store for a long time now.
Even though marijuana is legal in Montana, the reservation is different because of jurisdictions and race.
Non-Indians can freely use without fear of being arrested. However, federal law still criminalizes marijuana and this has been keeping the Tribal Executive Board from doing anything hemp related.
Despite this, the vast majority of customers are enrolled Indians and bring in the most money for the dispensary.
Even without money, some have been trying to trade things like hats, beadwork, weapons, etc. for marijuana. They try to trade but it never works. The store is cash only.
The renovations of the building limit the public access to four customers at a time.
Some of the biggest sellers are the pre-rolled joints and the selection of the week.
The dispensary is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m., to 8 p.m. All customers must have a photo ID and a carry out bag. Sunday the dispensary opens from 10 a.m., to 5 p.m.
There is no ATM on site and it’s cash only for business.
About Post Author
Louis H. Montclair
A journalist on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Owner of tribaltimesnews.com