A view of the Hoopa Valley Reservation in northern California. Photo from Facebook

Young members of the Hoopa Valley Tribe in California are speaking out against marijuana cultivation as a reservation-wide referendum approaches.

The Hoopa Valley Youth Council believes marijuana cultivation harms the environment. Illegal grows on and near the reservation have negatively impacted the watershed that plays an important role in tribal culture.

"They’re not anti-marijuana. They’re just saying at this time, in the predicament our environment is in, it’s more favorable to perhaps postpone the repeal of Title 34, to keep water in our streams rather than to seek profitable gain," youth coordinator Thomas Joseph told The Eureka Times-Standard.

Title 34 of the tribal code bars marijuana cultivation on the reservation. Former chairman Clifford Lyle Marshall is leading the effort to repeal it through tomorrow's referendum.

“I appreciate that the young people are concerned about the environment and concerned about the fisheries, but the position of the people who are voting to repeal Title 34 believe the only way to get cannabis growers out of the mountains and to stop the illegal grows is to create a system where you can regulate it legally,” Marshall told the paper.

Marijuana remains illegal under federal law. A new Department of Justice policy could open the door for tribes to grow the drug.

Get the Story:
Hoopa tribal youth take stance against marijuana grow initiative (The Eureka Times-Standard 4/25)
Talking Pot, Cannabis, Marijuana and Flowers in Hoopa (The Two Rivers Tribune 3/26)

Relevant Documents:
Department of Justice Policy Statement Regarding Marijuana Issues in Indian Country (October 2014)

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