Native November - Tribes Left Behind By America's Marijuana Laws

America has moved quickly in legalizing marijuana with the majority of states having recreational or medical laws. In recent news, President Biden announced: “a pardon of all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana, urged all Governors to do the same with regard to state offenses, and asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.” This is huge and beneficial for only 6500 people, and it’s not enough for everyone. Native Americans are not protected federally for state and territorial cannabis markets.

Native American nations are kind of under a different set of rules than the rest of the United States. According to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), “Native peoples and governments have inherent rights and a political relationship with the U.S. government that does not derive from race or ethnicity. Tribal members are citizens of three sovereigns: their tribe, the United States, and the state in which they reside. They are also individuals in an international context with the rights afforded to any other individual.” Essentially, this is due to the Native tribes being considered federal land, it is unfortunate that that is the reason why they have been left behind by America’s marijuana laws. This means that when it comes to cannabis laws in the United States and the Native tribes, even if the tribe is in a state with recreational and medical marijuana, it is still prohibited and illegal to grow or be in possession of marijuana.

For many Native tribes, they are allowed to farm on their land, except for the ever-prospering cannabis plant. This is leaving people in legal states far behind the rest of the population. There are people losing thousands of dollars in opportunities, all due to this technicality. Cannabis has been a huge economic bonus for the majority of the United States.

Colorado, Oklahoma, California, and Oregon have all made over well over $600 million each.

In the third-poorest state, New Mexico, the recent legalization of marijuana was set to rake in over $200 million in the first year. This is amazing news, but according to Politico, not for the 300-person Picuris Pueblo tribe. The average income in New Mexico is “$50,000, and 68 percent of the tribe’s households are below that line.” The Picuris Pueblo tribe mainly makes their money from farming and bison ranching, but with the added crop of cannabis, they would be in a much better financial place.

Over the years, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) drug officers have come onto Picuris land and conducted raids. In 2017, they found and pulled 30 medical cannabis plants according to the Picuris Governor Craig Quanchello. “ At present-day prices, that marijuana flower would be worth at least $100,000. Then in December 2021, three BIA officers entered Picuris land again — according to a letter from the tribe detailing the raid — pulling up nine medical plants grown at the home of a medical card owner,” stated Politico. Quanchello recalled that this issue has him and his citizens feeling like they are “living with a rattlesnake,” just waiting for it to bite. Unfortunately, in their latest attempt to allow marijuana to be grown on their land, they have fallen into the same hole between state and federal drug laws. Although this situation is a specific one, many tribes across the United States can find similarities in it.

The history that the United States government has with Native American tribes has not been pretty. Unfortunately, many laws, not just cannabis laws, are in place that inhibits our nation’s tribes from economic prosperity. Politico reminds us that these laws go all the way back “to the removal of tribes from some of the nation’s choicest pieces of land. Many tribes are still denied the ability to rent or lease the land they now live on, and the federal government gave states the ability to siphon off a percentage of tribes’ tax revenue from any gaming businesses.” Even now, the state and territorial cannabis laws, that have been in Congress for years, have never included the Native tribes. The exclusion has gone so far as to have “some tribes give up part of their sovereignty to states in order to protect their cannabis markets from federal intervention.” It is shocking to see the stark discriminatory actions that are still being made against Native Americans.

In 2014, there was a little bit of progress made due to the Obama administration’s Department of Justice introduction of the Cole Memo. The Cole Memo “instructed U.S. attorneys to ignore state-regulated cannabis programs. The Department of the Interior matched it with the Wilkinson Memo in 2014, which extended the Cole protections to Native American tribes.” Thanks to these memo’s many tribes across the nation, including the Picuris tribe, had set up their cannabis programs. This only lasted for about three years as the Trump administration repealed both memos in 2017.

After the introduction and repeal of the memos, New Mexico legalized medical and recreational marijuana in 2021, but this unfortunately still left Native tribes behind. In fact, in February of this year, there was another raid on the Picuris tribe by the BIA officers. This time they only found seeds and still, people were at risk of arrest. Fortunately, shortly after the BIA raid, “Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has worked to find a solution for tribes that want to enter the marijuana industry. The state of New Mexico signed a 10- year agreement with the Picuris Pueblo that is intended to provide protection from federal intervention,” reported Politico. Quanchello says that he and his people are still apprehensive of growing cannabis on their land. According to Quanchello, “U.S. Attorney Fred Federici told him that a state compact would not protect him from federal interference.”

Ultimately, this is an example of the situation that many Native tribes have to go to just to be able to grow or possess cannabis safely. It is also an obvious way for us to see just how discriminatory the United States' laws can be when it comes to Native tribes and their rights. We as fellow citizens need to use our voices to uplift Native tribes so they have the same rights and regulations that we do. These arbitrary rules are inhibiting people from living their lives to the fullest and increasing their financial status. Hopefully, as time passes, the United States government can get its act together and be able to move away from laws that are obviously making the lives of American citizens more difficult and more dangerous simply for having a product that most people can have without many issues. Additionally, as Thanksgiving is approaching soon and most, if not all of us, know the weight that the day carries, it is important to remember where we live and who lived here originally. We should honor our many Native American tribes as they deserve, and learn more about their history and the lives they live today. If you have the time check out: native-land.ca. The site shows you what tribes lived on the land that you live on today. Even if it makes you uncomfortable, this is an important section of history, and an important part of our present day, that we need not forget.