NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — The Seneca Nation dispensary finally has an opening date.
After construction of Nativa Cannabis started back in November, the dispensary is now set to open later this week.
A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled to take place on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Nativa Cannabis will operate out of a 2,500 square foot building on the corner of John B. Daly Boulevard and Niagara Street, next to the Seneca One Stop fuel station.
Since it's on sovereign land, the Nation did not need to ask permission from the City of Niagara Falls to build the dispensary.
You will need to be 21 or older to purchase anything there. It will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
There will also be a drive-thru at the dispensary, according to previous reporting.
The announcement of the opening comes on the heels of the Cannabis Control Board approved Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses for four dispensaries in Western New York.
The businesses and owners to receive a license are Aaron Van Camp, AMSM LLC. owned by Gina and Glen Miller, Flower City Shop LLC. owned by Jamie Donato-Rivera and Phetnakhone Duangtavilay out of Rochester, and Premier Earth Corp owned by Joseph Wojciechowski.
2 On Your Side’s Rob Hackford spoke with the owners of two of the businesses that were approved. They both reported that they were looking for a location before they can open.
The next step for the businesses that were approved is to submit a detailed business.
"It's that submission of that paperwork that will ultimately allow the people licensed today to go from provisional license to you know operating conditional licenses under the CAURD program," Joe Schafer, an attorney at Lippes Mathias LLP that specializes in cannabis law told 2 On Your Side.
These licenses were able to be approved after a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decision narrowed an injunction zone that was preventing the Office of Cannabis Management from awarding licenses in five regions including Western New York.