Following the signing of a new cooperative agreement between Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management and Red Lake Nation tribal leaders, a new cannabis dispensary called NativeCare is expected to open early next year in West St. Paul.

Pending municipal regulatory approvals, the dispensary would be located at 2067 S. Robert St., a city spokesperson said. The address is a storefront in Ten Acres Center, a strip mall at the intersection of Robert Street and Mendota Road.

In a statement, Red Lake announced the dispensary would open in January. A representative of the Red Lake Nation did not respond to interview requests.

Red Lake’s original NativeCare dispensary, located on tribal land in Beltrami County, was the first dispensary to open after the state legalized the sale of cannabis in August 2023.

The new compact between Red Lake and the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, signed by Gov. Tim Walz on Dec. 15, allows Red Lake to open a select number of off-reservation retail dispensaries alongside continuing safety commitments including regular testing and reporting.

“The Red Lake Nation is eager to share our top tier cannabis and cannabis products with the Minnesota market,” Red Lake Nation chairman Darrell G. Seki Sr. said in a statement issued by the state Office of Cannabis Management. “Over the past five years, we have been perfecting unique strains of cannabis in our premiere growing facilities at the Red Lake Nation. Our goal from the beginning has been to produce the highest quality cannabis products that are free of all toxins and impurities. Consistent testing has verified that we have reached our goal.”

Revenues from these dispensaries are expected to be “significant” and will be reinvested in education, health and wellness services for Red Lake Nation members and infrastructure improvements on tribal-owned reservation lands, tribal leaders said in a statement.

“We are focused on making sure that our cannabis operations are a success, so that our tribal infrastructure projects can be completed and our members are able to obtain the employment opportunities that our integrated cannabis operations provide,” Seki said in another statement from the Red Lake Nation.

As state cannabis regulations have taken shape in recent years, Native nations have found themselves with a significant head start. Tribal-run dispensaries like NativeCare began opening almost immediately after adult-use recreational cannabis was legalized in Minnesota in 2023, but licenses for privately owned dispensaries did not roll out until summer 2025.

The state also maintains cannabis agreements with White Earth Nation, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, the Prairie Island Indian Community, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, which operate a number of dispensaries around the state. Alongside the proposed West St. Paul location, Red Lake leaders also announced plans for a NativeCare dispensary to open soon in Thief River Falls.

As private dispensaries have proliferated in recent months, cities in the Metro area have enacted varying regulations around how many will be allowed to open and where they can operate, the Pioneer Press found.

Red Lake leaders initially submitted a proposal to the city of West St. Paul while the compact was still pending but city staff asked them to resubmit last week after the agreement had been signed, said Sarah Haugen, the city’s communications coordinator. City staff are currently reviewing the application to ensure it complies with local regulations, she said.

Tribal leaders did not specify in their proposal why West St. Paul was of particular interest for a dispensary, Haugen said.