NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — The Seneca Nation is building its first dispensary in Niagara Falls.
It will be located right next to the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino and the Seneca One Stop gas station.
It will be called Nativa Cannabis, and it's expected to open in February. Nativa Cannabis will operate out of a 2,500 square foot building.
Since it's on sovereign land, the Nation did not need to ask permission from the City of Niagara Falls to build the dispensary.
“Achieving financial sovereignty remains our ultimate priority,” Seneca Nation treasurer Matthew Pagels said. “The Seneca Nation has proven that, when presented with an opportunity, we can create industry-leading businesses on our territories that deliver substantial economic benefits to our people and to the surrounding region. Nativa Cannabis is the next chapter in our growth.”
You will need to be 21 or older to purchase anything there. It will be open seven days a week from 10 to 8 p.m.
There will also be a drive-thru at the dispensary.
2 On Your Side spoke to some Niagara Falls city council members about their thoughts on the dispensary coming to the area.
"It's a biggest tourist area. It kind of is further in from the city, so possibly could bring people into the city to attractions we're able to put up and finance. But as of right now, the main financial interest is (the Seneca Nation's), and from there we hope some would trickle down to the city," said David Zajac, a Niagara Falls city councilman.
Zajac says the City of Niagara Falls is not sure when it will get guidance from the state for those who want to open dispensaries outside sovereign land.
Other councilmembers disagree, saying the one coming in February won't benefit business owners outside the Nation's territory.
"When the Seneca Gaming Compact was created in 2002, state and local leadership never envisioned this type of development (cannabis dispensary) on the approximately 50 acres that was dedicated to the Seneca Nation in downtown Niagara Falls. The Seneca Nation is doing what is best for the individuals they represent," said John Spanbauer, a Niagara Falls city councilman.
"On the down side of that is that the Seneca’s have had an unfair advantage with the sale of gas and cigarettes without a state sales tax and now you can add the cannabis industry to it. It is great to see any new business in Niagara Falls, but a cannabis business on the Seneca’s property will have the same impact that the gas station did when it was built. Local residents will visit business where items are not taxed and are less expensive and it will have a negative impact on other local business that don’t have the luxury of not charging a sales tax.”
Nativa Cannabis is expected to open in early February.
The nation has been working with a consulting company from Maine on the project.
Officials with the Seneca Nation also say they're going to build a 90,000 square foot cultivation facility on their territory in the Southern Tier.