Sunland Park Says No to Dispensary at New Entertainment Venue

The Sunland Park City Council just shut down a plan for a new entertainment venue that would have included a cannabis dispensary on site. The project, called Independent Nation, promised everything from arcade games and axe throwing to live sports and, yes, weed.

But that mix of family-friendly fun and recreational substances had a lot of people asking, “Wait… how’s that going to work?”

Get our free mobile app

Alcohol and Weed at a Family Spot?

Independent Nation’s pitch included both alcohol and cannabis on site while also promoting itself as a space for family entertainment. What’s still unclear is how they planned to manage that balance. Would they stop serving during certain events? Separate the spaces? There were no public details about how it would work. Whether the council had any of that information before the vote is also unknown.

Still, the setup raised questions among locals. One business owner said what many were thinking: “How do you have an arcade next to a dispensary and still call it family-friendly?”

Get our free mobile app

Border Location Added Fuel to the Fire

Another sticking point was the address. Independent Nation would have been located at 420 Sunland Park Drive, basically right on the Texas state line. That raised some eyebrows, especially from people in the local cannabis industry who were worried about how it might affect Sunland Park’s relationship with El Paso.

Pablo Duran, who owns another dispensary in town and is part of the Sunland Park Cannabis Coalition, was one of the more vocal opponents. “We get along with El Paso. Why are we going to poke the bear?” he said, adding that it could bring unnecessary heat from across the border.

Get our free mobile app

Strip Club Rumors Stirred More Drama

Things got even messier when rumors started flying about a strip club being part of the venue. Duran mentioned it as part of his concerns, suggesting that combining a strip club with alcohol and weed would be a bad look for the city.

But the owner of Independent Nation, Amit Bijlani, says that’s just not true. “There is no strip club. There has never been a strip club,” he said, calling it flat-out misinformation.

Still, between the confusion, the location, and pushback from the community, the council decided to shut it down. For now, Independent Nation won’t be moving forward.

This story was originally reported by KVIA.