Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska is considering getting into the lucrative marijuana business, but at least one tribal expert fears doing so could put the tribe at risk of losing any investment it may make in marijuana industries.
The tribe plans to hold a referendum Tuesday in which members will vote on whether the tribe should allow recreational use of marijuana, medicinal use of marijuana, and growing industrial hemp on its northeast Nebraska reservation.
Ultimately, however, the Omaha tribal council will decide all three questions. The referendum vote simply will give the council guidance on whether to move forward, according to an information sheet distributed by the tribe.
Tribal law expert Lance Morgan, who also is president and CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc., the Winnebago Tribe’s economic development arm, said it likely will be difficult for the Omaha Tribe to legalize the use or manufacture of marijuana on its reservation, despite a U.S. Department of Justice memo issued last year that some tribal advocates have argued grants tribes the right to legalize use of marijuana on their reservations.
Morgan said the federal memo doesn’t actually allow tribes to legalize marijuana. Rather, he said, it allows them to work with local U.S. attorneys to do so. And, he said, U.S. attorneys in many states have been unwilling to allow tribes to move forward.
“I think the government should be more direct in whether it’s allowable or not,” he said.
Morgan said it will be especially difficult for tribes in Nebraska to legalize marijuana, considering the firm stance Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson has taken against it. Spokeswoman Suzanne Gage declined to comment Friday on the referendum.
Recent federal raids of tribal hemp operations seem to further demonstrate the uncertain legal foundation upon which tribes have begun building hemp and marijuana operations.
In July, federal agents raided the Pit River Tribe and the Alturas Indian Rancheria in California and seized 12,000 plants. And on Oct. 23, they raided the Menominee Indian Tribe’s Wisconsin reservation, destroying 30,000 cannabis plants.
Morgan said the ambiguous Justice Department memo has encouraged tribes across the country to launch expensive marijuana and hemp operations, and now some of those tribes have discovered they don’t actually have the right to legalize marijuana.
“This is just one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen come out of D.C.,” Morgan said. “Encouraging us to invest capital and then coming in and destroying that capital and raiding the tribe doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Morgan said the Winnebago Tribe has discussed legalized marijuana but has no plans to move forward with such a plan.
He sees the Omaha Tribe's plan to gauge opinion through a referendum as a good idea.
“The only way tribes are going to do it is if they hold a referendum,” he said. “Then they know what the people think and can act accordingly.”
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Omaha Tribe To Consider Legalizing Marijuana
Author: Kevin Abourezk
Contact: Email Author
Photo Credit: Nebraska Outdoor Scenery
Website: Journal Star
The tribe plans to hold a referendum Tuesday in which members will vote on whether the tribe should allow recreational use of marijuana, medicinal use of marijuana, and growing industrial hemp on its northeast Nebraska reservation.
Ultimately, however, the Omaha tribal council will decide all three questions. The referendum vote simply will give the council guidance on whether to move forward, according to an information sheet distributed by the tribe.
Tribal law expert Lance Morgan, who also is president and CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc., the Winnebago Tribe’s economic development arm, said it likely will be difficult for the Omaha Tribe to legalize the use or manufacture of marijuana on its reservation, despite a U.S. Department of Justice memo issued last year that some tribal advocates have argued grants tribes the right to legalize use of marijuana on their reservations.
Morgan said the federal memo doesn’t actually allow tribes to legalize marijuana. Rather, he said, it allows them to work with local U.S. attorneys to do so. And, he said, U.S. attorneys in many states have been unwilling to allow tribes to move forward.
“I think the government should be more direct in whether it’s allowable or not,” he said.
Morgan said it will be especially difficult for tribes in Nebraska to legalize marijuana, considering the firm stance Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson has taken against it. Spokeswoman Suzanne Gage declined to comment Friday on the referendum.
Recent federal raids of tribal hemp operations seem to further demonstrate the uncertain legal foundation upon which tribes have begun building hemp and marijuana operations.
In July, federal agents raided the Pit River Tribe and the Alturas Indian Rancheria in California and seized 12,000 plants. And on Oct. 23, they raided the Menominee Indian Tribe’s Wisconsin reservation, destroying 30,000 cannabis plants.
Morgan said the ambiguous Justice Department memo has encouraged tribes across the country to launch expensive marijuana and hemp operations, and now some of those tribes have discovered they don’t actually have the right to legalize marijuana.
“This is just one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen come out of D.C.,” Morgan said. “Encouraging us to invest capital and then coming in and destroying that capital and raiding the tribe doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Morgan said the Winnebago Tribe has discussed legalized marijuana but has no plans to move forward with such a plan.
He sees the Omaha Tribe's plan to gauge opinion through a referendum as a good idea.
“The only way tribes are going to do it is if they hold a referendum,” he said. “Then they know what the people think and can act accordingly.”
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Omaha Tribe To Consider Legalizing Marijuana
Author: Kevin Abourezk
Contact: Email Author
Photo Credit: Nebraska Outdoor Scenery
Website: Journal Star
