KINGSTON — The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe will be opening High Point, their new pot shop, this weekend in a temporary facility beside the Gliding Eagle Market in Kingston.

Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribal Council Chairman Jeromy Sullivan said that the store’s ultimate location will be dependent on the tribe’s master plan.

“We haven’t approved our master plan for that area yet. It depends on if we put baseball fields across the street or not, and there are limitations on how close you can be to places where kids will be interacting.”

In drafting the regulations for tribal marijuana stores, the tribe essentially used the state’s playbook on how to handle legal marijuana.

“It is actually the very same except for even if you have a medicinal marijuana card, you are not allowed to grow any plants in any home on our reservation. That’s still against the law,” Sullivan said. “We don’t have any problems working with the state. It helps us set some good, firm guidelines. It also helps us educate our community which is really important to us. It helps us keep marijuana out of the hands of minors, which is really important to our community.”

Sullivan also said the tribe would be using the same marijuana distributors as other state-approved retailers, so visitors can expect to see many of the same sorts of products at High Point as any of the other marijuana vendors around Washington.

Noo-Kayet Development Corporation is the group behind High Point’s arrival to the S’Klallam reservation. Noo-Kayet’s CEO Chris Placentia said High Point will also be looking to train its staff in order to offer medical marijuana customers consultations as well. Placentia explained that medical marijuana patients are afforded the ability to take home three ounces of marijuana as opposed to the one- ounce maximum afforded to recreational users. Medical marijuana patients also don’t have to pay sales tax.

In addition to being able to consult with medical marijuana patients, Placentia said that the certification would also offer employees a better understanding of the products.

“On a staff level it gives them a deeper understanding and therefore they will pass that deeper understanding down to our clients on the relative effects of different types of marijuana products,” Placentia said.

Placentia was also quick to point out that the building housing High Point for the time being is only temporary and much more state of the art accommodations are forthcoming.

A soft opening for tribal members will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, and a full roll is planned for 9 a.m. Sunday.

— Nick Twietmeyer is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. Contact him at ntwietmeyer@soundpublishing.com.