South Dakota Indian Reservation Legalizes Marijuana

[SkyHighLer]

I love it! Maybe they'll get all the tribes on board before all the states considering how the casino movement went...

http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail....an-reservation-legalizes-marijuana/?id=181300


"South Dakota Indian Reservation Legalizes Marijuana

June 15, 2015, 6:00 PM by Kathleen Serie

FLANDREAU, SD - The Flandreau Santee Sioux Indian Reservation has legalized the sale and use of marijuana on tribal land.

Last Thursday, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe Executive Committee became the first reservation in the state to legalize marijuana.

Plans call for one facility where marijuana will be grown, and another place to buy and use the drug for medicinal and recreational use for those over 21.

Those under 21 could use medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. It's a controversial issue for the reservation, and the community of Flandreau.

Tribal President Anthony Reider says The Flandreau Santee Sioux Indian tribe is used to stepping forward and taking a stance on controversial issues.

"Throughout Indian country, Flandreau's been trail-blazers,” Reider said. “We were with the casino, we were the second compacted tribe in the United States, the first and largest casino in between Atlantic City and Las Vegas, so it's something that's not new to us. We kind of like taking the forefront on issues."

An issue that not everyone agrees on, including Becky Red Earth-Villeda, who's lived on the reservation her whole life.

"We have no business going into marijuana, I don't care what the reason is," Red Earth-Villeda said.

Flandreau Mayor Mark Bonrud says he is against the ordinance as well.

"We don't see any benefits in having marijuana in one certain entity without any tax structure or anything that's going to benefit the city, or the state of South Dakota," Bonrud said.

There are more than 300 federally-recognized Indian Reservations in the United States, and each one has the power to choose whether or not they legalize marijuana.

Tribal Attorney Seth Pearman says the facilities growing and selling marijuana will contain security personnel and surveillance cameras to prevent the removal of the product from the specified locations. He says the controlled environment will limit the quantity of marijuana to one gram at a time.

"We're really kind of hoping that people treat it much like alcohol. We still would allow people to stay at our hotel, which would be the most ideal situation for us, but drugged driving is a major concern that we hope to curb, and by having such a small quantity, we hope that people don't over consume," Pearman said.

Pearman says potential customers will need a valid registration card to purchase and use marijuana: an operation that could be up and running by as early as this fall.

Reider says the ordinance also includes a provision for a three-member marijuana control commission."

 

[shithawk420]

One gram at a time?for the whole reservation?kinda confusing

 

[SkyHighLer]

One gram at a time?for the whole reservation?kinda confusing

It's a start, here's what brought it about,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/11/native-american-tribes-marijuana_n_6311738.html

"Feds: Native American Tribes Can Make Their Own Marijuana Laws

AP Posted: 12/11/2014 5:47 pm EST Updated: 12/11/2014 5:59 pm EST

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday Indian tribes can grow and sell marijuana on their lands as long as they follow the same federal conditions laid out for states that have legalized the drug.

Oregon U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall said Thursday the announcement addresses questions raised by tribes about how legalization of pot in states like Oregon, Washington and Colorado would apply to Indian lands.

Only three tribes have expressed interest in growing and selling marijuana, said Marshall, who co-chaired a group that developed the policy. One is in California, one in Washington state and one in the Midwest. She did not name them.

"That's been the primary message tribes are getting to us as U.S. attorneys," Marshall said from Portland. "What will the U.S. as federal partners do to assist tribes in protecting our children and families, our tribal businesses, our tribal housing? How will you help us combat marijuana abuse in Indian County when states are no longer there to partner with us?"

Marshall warned the announcement is not a green light to tribal authorities — and that marijuana is still illegal under federal law. The U.S. government's prosecution priorities involve pot-related gang activity, violence, sales to kids and trafficking continue, she said.

Problems could arise for tribes with lands in states that still outlaw marijuana, due to the likelihood that marijuana could be transported or sold outside tribal boundaries, she added.

Seattle attorney Anthony Broadman, whose firm represents tribal governments throughout the West, said the announcement represents a "potential for an enormous economic development tool here.

"If tribes can balance all the potential social issues, it could be a really huge opportunity," Broadman said.

But those social issues are monumental.

"Indian tribes have been decimated by drug use," Broadman said. "Tribal regulations of pot are going to have to dovetail with tribal values, making sure marijuana isn't a scourge like alcohol or tobacco."

Tribes selling marijuana may not be subject to state and local taxes, allowing them to undercut off-reservation sales. In Washington, taxes add 25 percent to the price of pot. But Alison Holcomb, a primary drafter of Washington state's legalization measure, said most people in larger states won't want to drive to far-flung reservations to buy pot.

"The reality is that so much of the market depends on convenience, it's not just price that drives consumer choices," Holcomb said.

The Yakama Nation in Washington state recently passed a ban on marijuana on the reservation and is trying to halt state regulated pot sales and grows on lands off the reservation where it still holds hunting and fishing rights. The Hoopa Valley Tribe in Northern California has battled illegal pot plantations on its reservation, where they cause environmental damage.

Marshall said with 566 tribes around the country recognized by the federal government, there will be a lot of consulting going on between tribes and federal prosecutors. As sovereign nations, some tribes have their own police, some rely on federal law enforcement, and some call in state and local police.

With limited resources and vast amounts of territory to cover, federal prosecutors will not prosecute minor cases, Marshall said.

The tribal policy is based on the so-called "Cole Memo" of August 2013, named after the deputy attorney general who wrote it, in which the Justice Department said the federal government wouldn't intervene as long as legalization states tightly regulate the drug and take steps to keep it from children, criminal cartels and federal property.

In all, the memo said, U.S. attorneys reserve the right to prosecute for eight issues: Sales to kids, marijuana proceeds going to criminal enterprises, shipping marijuana to states where it is illegal, illegal sales, firearms and violence, drugged driving and other public health issues, growing marijuana on public lands and possession of marijuana on federal property.

___

Wozniacka reported from Portland, Oregon."

 

[stoned-trout]

its a plant...grow it ,smoke it , real simple...yeehaw free the weed..you would think all native americans would be cool with it....

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

Wow. I grew up about 40 miles S.E. of Flandreau and SD is so backwards that I am really surprised. In the bad old days the tribes were really discriminated against so their revenge is casinos and weed.

 

[Midnite Toker]

No longer known as The Souix, now going by The Mary Jane!
~mT

 

[SkyHighLer]

Wow. I grew up about 40 miles S.E. of Flandreau and SD is so backwards that I am really surprised. In the bad old days the tribes were really discriminated against so their revenge is casinos and weed.

Apparently so, the SD AG needs to go, if a tourist can loose his/her money at a Native American casino in a state where gambling is illegal, he should be able to smoke weed if the tribal leaders ok it.

"South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says he respects the tribe's authority to govern tribal members. He says use and possession of marijuana by "non-Indians'' is still against the law."
http://navajotimes.com/wires-wp/index.php?id=1607448360&kid=bVNC5aRv74dNdNoq

The AG's office of the federal government of the US has stated it's the tribe's land to do with as they please as long as they aren't bothering anyone outside of their land is the way I understand the decision (see post #3.) It's been decades since Billy Jack, and still....

 

[aridbud]

One gram at a time?for the whole reservation?kinda confusing

In CO, we grow our own, but 1 gram at rec. shops in CO is or was $20 per gram. Might be lower with tax % decrease...but not much.

One gram at a time.....sounds plausible (and profitable!).

 

[MelloYello]

Put down the bottle and pick up the pipe.

 

[stoned40yrs]

its a plant...grow it ,smoke it , real simple...yeehaw free the weed..you would think all native americans would be cool with it....

You don't know what reality is for some Native Americans. There are hundreds of Native American villages spread over Alaska and 99% of them are not connected to the road system. Illegal booze and Marijuana is smuggled in by air. A $10 bottle of booze sells for $150-$450 and Marijuana sells for $50-$100 a gram. This in itself is not a real bad thing, the bad thing is that the majority of customers have a fucked up list of priorities when it comes to spending their income. The booze and dope are at the top of the list instead of food for themselves and their kids, it also comes ahead of rent or fuel to heat their homes. So that is the reality, now explain why all Native Americans should be cool with it

 

[Baked Alaskan]

According to news articles the tribe will have one place for people to buy and consume. I imagine it will be modeled after an Amsterdam style coffee shop. The Reservation is near Sioux Falls and has a nice casino and gets big name (for South Dakota) entertainment. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Will this be the only "bar" or coffee shop in the United States to let people consume cannabis on the property?