Shinnecock plans for medical marijuana dispensary taking shape

The Shinnecock Indian Nation’s plans for a medical marijuana dispensary and wellness lounge on its 700-acre reservation in Southampton are taking shape, along with a newly planned indoor cultivation and processing facility that could employ up to 100 people.

The tribe announced plans for the dispensary last year. Construction that was temporarily halted in the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, said Bryan Polite, chairman of the tribal council of trustees, construction has restarted and the dispensary and wellness center are expected to be completed by year’s end.

The two buildings will be located on Montauk Highway near a series of tribally operated smoke shops and convenience stores on tribal land just west of Southampton village. The tribe’s official business operator, called Little Beach Harvest, is working in partnership with outside contractor Conor Green.

Work also will start this summer on an indoor medical marijuana cultivation and processing facility, Polite said. The facility will be from 100,000 square feet to 250,000 square feet and will be located deeper within the reservation, at what was once a dump.

The cultivation facility, with an investment of tens of millions of dollars of outside funding, will bring with it up to 100 permanent jobs for tribal members and the local community, Polite said.

The nation has been working with a London-based company to launch a tribal-branded line of wellness and health care products to be sold at the holistic wellness facility when it’s completed, he said. The products also will be sold through a new online sales site, Polite said.

The tribe is also working with “several” national medicinal cannabis brands, products and accessories companies to negotiate production and distribution partnerships, he said. The business is being operated by Chenae Bullock, who is managing director of Little Beach Harvest, Polite said.

The wellness center plans to host events at the Montuak Highway facility on tribal culture, plant-based medicinal treatments and historical events, and sell food and drink. It will also sell tribally produced merchandise, Polite said.

A three-dimensional rendering of the facility can be found here.