Red Flower Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary is located at Red Pheasant Cree Nation. (Red Pheasant First Nation/Facebook)

By Angela Brown

First Nation development

Red Pheasant Cree Nation opening new cannabis retail facility

Jul 17, 2020 | 5:34 PM

Red Pheasant Cree Nation has opened its own cannabis retail outlet to serve the area.

Called Red Flower Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary, the facility opened its doors Friday.

“We opened today. We have had steady traffic flow, so things are looking pretty promising,” Chief Clint Wuttunee said.

The Red Flower shop expects to have a grand opening event and barbecue open to the public at the site Wednesday to celebrate.

“This is the first one we opened. Our future plans would be to open in a couple of other locations on land the First Nation owns,” Wuttunee said.

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The facility sells a variety of items, including cannabis, CBD oils, edibles, extracts and paraphernalia among its products.

Fully owned by Red Pheasant, the cannabis dispensary is located on the First Nation beside Red Pheasant’s gas station.

“We have had other offers prior to this from investors, people who wanted to open up shop and pay Red Pheasant a lease or a fee,” Wuttunee said. “But we need to create revenue for our First Nation to help fill the gaps that exist – social and economic gaps, [and] a lack of funding from the federal government. So we have had a lot of shortfalls. We have always been adamant that we need to create more private funding, our own enterprises so we could adequately meet the needs of the community.”

The dispensary employs about 15 staff at the site.

Wuttunee said people from the surrounding area are invited to visit the business.

He noted the province’s COVID-19 restrictions are in place.

“We have precautions here,” Wuttunee said. “We have anti-bacterial hand sanitizer at the site. People are encouraged to bring their own masks if they feel more comfortable. We are open for the public.”

The First Nation plans to have the signage for the dispensary installed by Monday.

Similar to some other First Nations in Saskatchewan, Red Pheasant is opening its shop without a provincial licence.

Wuttunee said Red Pheasant adopted its own legislation as part of its traditional medicinal protection act, through Red Pheasant governance, before opening its cannabis retail outlet on its land.

He said certain plants and roots fall under this Act.

“Of course cannabis is a natural root that was used by the First Nations for centuries. So it falls under that Act too, and that is what governs us, and allows us to licence ourselves on the First Nation,” Wuttunee said.

He said Red Pheasant is receiving its product for the dispensary from Pheasant Rump Nakota Nation, located near Kisbey, which was reported to have opened its own cannabis dispensary last year.

“They comply with all the provincial standards,” Wuttunee said, adding the product is tested, and “everything is safe and high quality.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW