Federal and local authorities raided the marijuana farm on the XL Rancheria in California on July 8, 2015. Photo by Bruce Brown / Facebook
A new Department of Justice policy affecting marijuana in Indian Country hasn't opened the floodgates to the drug. So far, just a handful of tribes have legalized the drug since the so-called Wilkinson memo was made public last December. But of those, only the Pinoleville Pomo Nation of California and the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe in South Dakota taken concrete steps to market and sell marijuana on their lands. Still, there are concerns about jurisdiction and law enforcement. The Pinoleville Pomo Nation has scaled back its farm due to opposition from local authorities in Medocino County. In South Dakota, Attorney General Marty Jackley has vowed to prosecute non-Indians who use the drug. "If tribes don't do this right, their situation could get a lot worse," professor Robert Williams, the director of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program at the University of Arizona, told News21. "The stakes are high, and the consequences could be disastrous." Two more tribes in California -- the Alturas Rancheria and the Pit River Tribe -- were growing marijuana but their operations were raided by federal authorities in July. No charges, however, were filed against anyone. Other tribes have expressed interest in legalizing marijuana but plans remain up in the air. Get the Story:
Tribal lands set their own rules on marijuana (News21 9/8)
Deal initiated to build pot facility on tribal lands (The Portland Press Herald 9/8)
Why American Indian Tribes Are Getting Into the Marijuana Business (Time 9/4) Relevant Documents:
Department of Justice Policy Statement Regarding Marijuana Issues in Indian Country (October 2014)
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