William Tell
12-11-2014, 12:24 PM
Tribes Can Legalize Pot, Justice Department Decides Marijuana may displace casinos as reservation cash cows. http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/b3ec381/2147483647/resize/652x%3E/quality/85/?url=%2Fcmsmedia%2F0a%2Fe6%2F29ddbd754ab490a5c417a b0d7e47%2F141211-editorial.jpg Native American trackers working to deter drug smuggling ride all-terrain vehicles on the Tohono O'Odham Indian Reservation near Arizona's border with Mexico
By Steven Nelson (http://www.usnews.com/topics/author/steven_nelson) Dec. 11, 2014 | 12:16 p.m. EST + More
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Four western U.S. states have decided to allow recreational marijuana sales, but legal pot may soon be within driving distance of many more Americans following a new Department of Justice decision.
In a memo released Thursday, the department outlined new policies allowing American Indian tribes to grow and sell marijuana on reservation lands.
Possession of marijuana is a federal crime, but the department announced (http://www.usnews.com/news/newsgram/articles/2013/08/29/doj-marijuana-stores-can-open-in-colorado-and-washington) in August 2013 it would allow states to regulate recreational marijuana sales. The nation's first recreational pot stores opened in Colorado and Washington this year.
Residents of Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia voted in November to also legalize marijuana, though Congress appears (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/12/09/spending-deal-protects-medical-pot-blocks-legalization-in-dc) likely to block sales in the nation’s capital.
[READ: Hecklers Crash Anti-Pot Legalization Forum on Capitol Hill (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/12/09/hecklers-crash-anti-pot-legalization-forum-on-capitol-hill)]
The new federal policy will allow tribes interested in growing and selling marijuana to do so, if they maintain "robust and effective regulatory systems," John Walsh, the U.S. attorney for Colorado, told the Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-marijuana-indians-20141211-story.html).
Tribes will need to avoid eight (http://www.usnews.com/news/newsgram/articles/2013/08/29/doj-marijuana-stores-can-open-in-colorado-and-washington) enforcement triggers that currently apply to state marijuana sales, including a prohibition on sales to minors and the diversion of marijuana to states where it remains illegal under local law.
It’s unclear how many tribes will take advantage of the policy directive. Some tribes are well-known for using their special legal status to host casinos or sell (http://nypost.com/2013/12/02/despite-law-tribe-sells-1-7-tons-of-cigarettes-online/) untaxed cigarettes, but addiction and substance abuse are major concerns for some communities.
http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/ac48919/2147483647/resize/652x%3E/quality/85/?url=%2Fcmsmedia%2F06%2Ff8%2F0225fcee4130b9f5b7fff 8b73ab8%2F141211-indianlands-editorial.jpg (http://www.usnews.com/cmsmedia/06/f8/0225fcee4130b9f5b7fff8b73ab8/141211-indianlands-editorial.jpg) Federally recognized tribal reservations are scattered around the country. Click here (http://www.nps.gov/nagpra/DOCUMENTS/RESERV.PDF) to see a more detailed map of reservation locations.
There are 326 federally recognized American Indian reservations, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Many reservations are in states that don’t allow marijuana for medical or recreational use, such as Oklahoma, Utah and the Dakotas. Others are located near major East Coast cities and far from legal pot stores in the West.
"The tribes have the sovereign right to set the code on their reservations," U.S. attorney for North Dakota Timothy Purdon, chairman of the Attorney General's Subcommittee on Native American Issues, told the Times.
In a statement, the Department of Justice said U.S. attorneys will review tribal marijuana policies on a case-by-case basis and that prosecutors retain the right to enforce federal law.
Full article here:
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/12/11/tribes-can-legalize-pot-justice-department-decides
By Steven Nelson (http://www.usnews.com/topics/author/steven_nelson) Dec. 11, 2014 | 12:16 p.m. EST + More
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Four western U.S. states have decided to allow recreational marijuana sales, but legal pot may soon be within driving distance of many more Americans following a new Department of Justice decision.
In a memo released Thursday, the department outlined new policies allowing American Indian tribes to grow and sell marijuana on reservation lands.
Possession of marijuana is a federal crime, but the department announced (http://www.usnews.com/news/newsgram/articles/2013/08/29/doj-marijuana-stores-can-open-in-colorado-and-washington) in August 2013 it would allow states to regulate recreational marijuana sales. The nation's first recreational pot stores opened in Colorado and Washington this year.
Residents of Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia voted in November to also legalize marijuana, though Congress appears (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/12/09/spending-deal-protects-medical-pot-blocks-legalization-in-dc) likely to block sales in the nation’s capital.
[READ: Hecklers Crash Anti-Pot Legalization Forum on Capitol Hill (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/12/09/hecklers-crash-anti-pot-legalization-forum-on-capitol-hill)]
The new federal policy will allow tribes interested in growing and selling marijuana to do so, if they maintain "robust and effective regulatory systems," John Walsh, the U.S. attorney for Colorado, told the Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-marijuana-indians-20141211-story.html).
Tribes will need to avoid eight (http://www.usnews.com/news/newsgram/articles/2013/08/29/doj-marijuana-stores-can-open-in-colorado-and-washington) enforcement triggers that currently apply to state marijuana sales, including a prohibition on sales to minors and the diversion of marijuana to states where it remains illegal under local law.
It’s unclear how many tribes will take advantage of the policy directive. Some tribes are well-known for using their special legal status to host casinos or sell (http://nypost.com/2013/12/02/despite-law-tribe-sells-1-7-tons-of-cigarettes-online/) untaxed cigarettes, but addiction and substance abuse are major concerns for some communities.
http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/ac48919/2147483647/resize/652x%3E/quality/85/?url=%2Fcmsmedia%2F06%2Ff8%2F0225fcee4130b9f5b7fff 8b73ab8%2F141211-indianlands-editorial.jpg (http://www.usnews.com/cmsmedia/06/f8/0225fcee4130b9f5b7fff8b73ab8/141211-indianlands-editorial.jpg) Federally recognized tribal reservations are scattered around the country. Click here (http://www.nps.gov/nagpra/DOCUMENTS/RESERV.PDF) to see a more detailed map of reservation locations.
There are 326 federally recognized American Indian reservations, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Many reservations are in states that don’t allow marijuana for medical or recreational use, such as Oklahoma, Utah and the Dakotas. Others are located near major East Coast cities and far from legal pot stores in the West.
"The tribes have the sovereign right to set the code on their reservations," U.S. attorney for North Dakota Timothy Purdon, chairman of the Attorney General's Subcommittee on Native American Issues, told the Times.
In a statement, the Department of Justice said U.S. attorneys will review tribal marijuana policies on a case-by-case basis and that prosecutors retain the right to enforce federal law.
Full article here:
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/12/11/tribes-can-legalize-pot-justice-department-decides