Headquarters of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe in Flandreau, South Dakota. Image from Google Maps
The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe and the state of South Dakota are in discussions over plans to sell marijuana. The tribe aims to grow and sell marijuana for recreational and medicinal use by the end of the year. The drug will only be consumed in a dedicated facility on the reservation. The state lacks jurisdiction in Indian Country but Attorney General Marty Jackley argues that non-Indians cannot go to the reservation and use marijuana. He's been meeting with the tribe to discuss how the situation will work. "Those discussions center on how do we best make sure we comply with both tribal and state law," Jackley told KELO. The Department of Justice opened the door to legal marijuana in Indian Country with the 2014 Wilkinson memo. But Jackley noted that federal authorities recently raided marijuana operations on two reservations in California. "One of the indications that the California authorities said the reason they had gone in is because that the tribe wasn't in compliance with the state scheme and the state rules and that's another consideration of why state and tribal officials need to continue these positive talks to make sure if Flandreau is going to move forward on that," Jackley told KELO. The tribal council voted 5-1 in June to legalize marijuana, the first in South Dakota to do so. The resolution was accompanied by a comprehensive set of laws and policies to address the sale and use of the drug. The tribe will maintain complete ownership and operation of a 10,000 square-foot grow facility on the reservation. It will be accompanied by a 15,000 square-foot retail recreational marijuana consumption lounge that's going into an existing building adjacent to the Royal River Casino and Hotel. Get the Story:
Attorney General Urges Sante Sioux Tribe To Use Caution (KELO 7/14)
Questions and answers on marijuana initiative (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 7/15)
Feds Raid Native American Reservation, Seize 12,000 Legal Marijuana Plants (MintPress News 7/15)
GRE CEO Jerry Montour alleged financier of huge California grow (The Turtle Island News 7/15) Relevant Documents:
Department of Justice Policy Statement Regarding Marijuana Issues in Indian Country (October 2014)
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