Musician Julian Marley, the son of the late reggae legend Bob Marley, at Elevation in March 2016. The store, owned by the Squaxin Island Tribe, was the first retail marijuana outlet in Indian Country. Photo: Elevation

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Six more tribes are pursuing marijuana agreements in Washington

Friday, April 7, 2017

More and more tribes in Washington are getting on the marijuana bandwagon.

Four tribes have already entered into marijuana compacts with the state. Now six more are pursuing agreements, The Kitsap Sun reported.

“It’s really an opportunity a lot of tribes are looking into,” Chairman Jeromy Sullivan of the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, which is among those seeking a compact, told the paper.

In addition to Port Gamble, the paper said the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, te Samish Nation, the Spokane Tribe, the Stillaguamish Tribe and the Tulalip Tribes are pursuing compacts. If all succeed, it would bring the total number of agreements to 10, or about a third of the 29 federally recognized tribes in Washington.

Washington is so far the only state where tribes have entered the marijuana industry without incident. The drug is legal for recreational and medicinal purposes and the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board is authorized to enter into compacts with tribes.

Elsewhere, tribes have faced state and federal raids even after the Department of Justice said it would take tribal sovereignty into account in a manner similar to states where marijuana has been legalized.

Read More on the Story:
Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe eyeing marijuana sales (The Kitsap Sun 4/6)

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