ST. PAUL
— Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday signed the first tribal-state compact authorized under Minnesota’s 2023 cannabis law. The agreement outlines how the State of Minnesota and White Earth Nation will promote a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship to regulate cannabis and promote public health and safety, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

In establishing Minnesota’s cannabis law, the state Legislature called on the governor to negotiate intergovernmental agreements — cannabis compacts — with tribal nations sharing territory with Minnesota to enhance public health and safety, ensure a lawful and well-regulated cannabis market, encourage economic development, and provide financial benefits to both the state and tribal nations.

The compact allows the White Earth Nation to open up to eight off-reservation retail cannabis stores. There can be no more than one retail store per city, and no more than three per any one county. The Tribe has sites for retail cannabis shops in both
Moorhead
and
St. Cloud
, and has been waiting to open them pending the signing of the compact agreement, according to previous reporting by The Forum and St. Cloud Live.

More information about the compacting process — including copies of signed, executed cannabis compacts—can be found on the
Office of Cannabis Management’s Tribal Compacts website
.