Oregon Warm Springs tribe approves marijuana sales project

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ Members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have approved growing marijuana on their reservation in central Oregon and selling it outside the reservation.

The vote comes a year after a U.S. Department of Justice policy indicated tribes could grow and sell pot under the same guidelines as states. The tribe is one of a handful to enter the pot business thus far.

Warm Springs officials said about 80 percent of tribal voters favored the proposal. More than 1,400 of the 3,300 eligible voters turned out for the Thursday referendum.

The tribe plans to build a 36,000-square-foot greenhouse to grow and process cannabis. Revenue from three proposed tribal-owned retail stores in the Portland and Bend areas would top $26 million annually. Officials expect the project will create about 80 jobs.