First you need to know that South Dakota has harsh MJ laws and no decriminalization or medical programs. However...
South Dakota tribe to open nation's 1st marijuana resort
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FLANDREAU, S.D. (AP) — The Santee Sioux tribe has already proven its business acumen, running a successful casino, a 120-room hotel and a 240-head buffalo ranch on the plains of South Dakota.
But those enterprises have not been immune to competition and the lingering effects of the Great Recession, so the small tribe of 400 is undertaking a new venture — opening the nation's first marijuana resort on its reservation. The experiment could offer a new money-making model for tribes nationwide seeking economic opportunities beyond casinos.
Santee Sioux leaders plan to grow their own pot and sell it in a smoking lounge that includes a nightclub, arcade games, bar and food service, and eventually, slot machines and an outdoor music venue.
"We want it to be an adult playground," tribal President Anthony Reider said. "There's nowhere else in American that has something like this."
The project, according to the tribe, could generate up to $2 million a month in profit, and work is already underway on the growing facility. The first joints are expected to go on sale Dec. 31 at a New Year's Eve party.
The legalization of marijuana on the Santee Sioux land came in June, months after the Justice Department outlined a new policy that allows Indian tribes to grow and sell marijuana under the same conditions as some states.
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In this Sept. 24, 2015 photo, Jonathan Hunt, a consultant from Denver-based consulting firm Monarch …
Many tribes are hesitant to jump into the pot business. And not everyone in Flandreau, about 45 miles north of Sioux Falls, believes in the project. But the profit potential has attracted the interest of many other tribes, just as the debut of slot machines and table games almost 27 years ago.
"The vast majority of tribes have little to no economic opportunity," said Blake Trueblood, business development director at the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. For those tribes, "this is something that you might look at and say, 'We've got to do something.'"
Flandreau's indoor marijuana farm is set against a backdrop of soybean fields. If not for a security booth outside, the building could pass as an industrial warehouse.
Inside, men are working to grow more than 30 different strains of the finicky plant, including those with names like "Gorilla Glue," ''Shot Glass" and "Big Blue Cheese."
Pot is prone to mildew and mold, picky about temperature and pH level and intolerant to tap water. So the Santee Sioux have hired Denver-based consulting firm Monarch America to teach them the basics.
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This Sept. 24, 2015 photo shows the marijuana growing facility on the Flandreau Santee Sioux Reserva …
Tribal leaders from across the country and South Dakota legislators will tour the Flandreau facility in mid-October.
"This is not a fly-by-night operation," said Jonathan Hunt, Monarch's vice president and chief grower. Tribal leaders "want to show the state how clean, how efficient, how proficient, safe and secure this is as an operation. We are not looking to do anything shady."
Elsewhere, crews have begun transforming a bowling alley into the resort.
A marijuana resort open to the public has never been tried in the U.S. Even in states such as Colorado and Washington, where pot is fully legal, consumption in public places is generally forbidden, although pro-pot activists are seeking to loosen those restrictions. Colorado tolerates a handful of private marijuana clubs.
Unlike the vast reservations in western South Dakota, where poverty is widespread, the little-known Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation is on 5,000 acres of gently rolling land along the Big Sioux River. Trailer homes are scarce and houses have well-trimmed lawns.
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In this Sept. 24, 2015 photo, consultant Jonathan Hunt checks growing racks in the new marijuana gro …
The Santee Sioux hope to use pot in the same way that many tribes rely on casinos — to make money for community services and to provide a monthly income to tribal members. The existing enterprises support family homes, a senior living community, a clinic and a community center offering afterschool programs.
Reider hopes marijuana profits can fund more housing, an addiction treatment center and an overhaul of the clinic. Some members want a 24/7 day care center for casino workers.
The prosperity that marijuana could bring to Indian Country comes with huge caveats. The drug remains illegal under federal law, and only Congress can change its status. The administration that moves into the White House in 2017 could overturn the Justice Department's decision that made marijuana cultivation possible on tribal lands.
Meanwhile, tribes must follow strict security measures or risk the entire operation.
The marijuana cannot leave the reservation, and every plant in Flandreau's growing facility will have a bar code. After being harvested and processed, it will be sold in sealed 1-gram packages for $12.50 to $15 — about the same price as the illegal market in Sioux Falls, according to law enforcement. Consumers will be allowed to buy only 1 gram — enough for two to four joints — at a time.
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In this Sept. 24, 2015 photo, consultant Josh Stout germinates seeds at a new growing facility on th …
Want another gram? The bar-coded package of the first gram must be returned at the counter.
Since the Santee Sioux announced their plans, the Passamaquoddy Tribe in Maine signed a letter of intent with Monarch to build a cultivation facility for industrial hemp. The Suquamish Tribe and Washington state officials signed a 10-year agreement that will govern the production, processing and sale of pot on the tribe's land.
In the long run, Reider is certain that the benefits will outweigh the risks of tribal marijuana enterprises.
The tribe, he said, must "look at these opportunities because in order to preserve the past we do have to advance in the present."
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I can't imagine this is going to make your average South Dakotian very happy...
You would think it would be an obvious point by now. But Group-think is enemy #1 for rational thought. You can apply that across the board for any issue. IMO. Kids being kids will make mistakes in judgment. It is not only their lack of life experiences but a biological fact. They also tend to be more impulsive and are more prone to things like peer pressure. Not that peer pressure doesn't occur with lawmakers. Oh Snap!
Simply threatening kids with a felony, solves nothing and harms everybody in the long term. And I haven't even touched upon people who are more prone to addictive behavior or those who are self medicating a deeper problem. 
The election isn't for another year. Try contacting those who are already in office in your district and keep a pulse on current legislation. And vote in every election if you care enough, not just the foot race/presidential election. But also the mid-term and local elections. These candidates weren't exactly raised in a goldfish bowl. But feel free to point the exceptions to me. 
We make the exceptions for our selves, because we feel that we are responsible enough to discern the difference, but not for those whom we never met. and the beat goes on......
That is pathetic considering, at the very least they can buy a cheap usb microscope and do a simple inspection for spores and mildew. There is enough people who have a passion, like yourself who could have been employed at these places and rise a tide that would lift all boats. Plus there is so many other models from other states to refer to. I have heard of this problem from other sources and can see this even being more salt for you, especially if you want to make an impact for medical patients. Just when we could use some credibility. Also I have never met a person who hasn't helped me with MJ, who didn't give me any free advice for growing. There is some retail MJ like say Willie's Reserve that might put these practices to shame and set some sort of baseline for quality. I hope anyway.