This article was originally published by ICT News, formerly Indian Country Today.
The operators of the Little Pines cannabis dispensary say its location next to Munchies to Go was just a happy accident.
The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Indians' business development corporation opened Little Pines in early July, in a modest store front nestled next to Munchies in a small strip mall on tribal lands in northern Wisconsin. Munchies sells sandwiches, hot dogs and other snacks.
Given THC's reputation for stimulating the appetite, Munchies would seem to be uniquely well situated. THC or tetrahydrocannabinol is also the chemical compound responsible for psychoactive effects in the cannabis sativa plant.
The fact that Little Pines opened at all in Wisconsin, however, where both medical and recreational marijuana are illegal, is not just a coincidence. Little Pines is unique and represents an unusual legal loophole in federal law regarding hemp and marijuana, allowing manufacturers to sell products infused with THC as long as it's derived from hemp.
Both hemp and marijuana are examples of the plant genus Cannabis. Legally, hemp and marijuana differ primarily in their THC content. The 2018 Farm Bill, however, which was approved during the first Trump administration, authorized production of hemp and removed the plant from the Drug Enforcement Administration's schedule of controlled substances.
That opened the door to hemp products even if they have been infused with THC. And the new Indigenous brands are sparking interest as far away as Europe.
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