Members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs voted Wednesday on whether the tribal government should open a retail cannabis dispensary, as well as legalize the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana by adults 21 and older on the reservation in Central Oregon. But not enough voters turned out to decide an outcome, even as the Tribes’ first cannabis farm churns out its initial crop.
Opening a cannabis farm on the reservation got much more enthusiastic reaction from Warm Springs voters in 2015, when tribal members overwhelmingly turned out during a snowstorm to approve the idea, as reported by Warm Springs community radio station KWSO. This week’s referendum on a retail storefront to sell the farm’s crop and allow possession of recreational cannabis fell flat.
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FILE – In this Feb. 7, 2019, file photo, a bud tender shows a top cannabis strain at Serra, a dispensary in Portland, Ore.
Richard Vogel / AP
The tribal government requires 1,225 voters — or one third of the eligible tribal members — to cast ballots before an election is valid. The June 5 referendum didn’t pass that mark. Early, unofficial vote counts published by KWSO showed just 866 out of 3,673 eligible