Just a few months after the Department of Justice ruled that Native American tribes can grow and sell marijuana on tribal land, over 100 tribes are showing interest in farming pot.
These various tribes have contacted FoxBarry Farms, the company that has been tasked with constructing the first marijuana facility on tribal land in Northern California, to demonstrate their interest in such an endeavor, as reports the Huffington Post.
“I really underestimated,” explained FoxBarry Farms CEO Barry Brautman, who noted the considerable increase in inquiries since the DOJ ruling. “So many tribes are wanting to do this right now.”
FoxBarry is constructing a $10 million medical marijuana facility on Pinoleville Pomo Nation’s ranch in California, and other tribes now want in on the action.
“Tribes want what any government wants for its people, and that’s financial independence,” said Brautman. “They want to earn their own money, provide education, health care and housing. This new industry allows them to be more economically independent.”
Ironically, when the Justice Department ruling came down late last year, U.S. attorney for North Dakota Timothy Purdon speculated that the majority of tribes seem to be against permitting marijuana use on their land. However, these recent developments suggest that Purdon may have been premature in his assessment.
In December, DOJ decided that the government won’t prevent Native Americans from growing marijuana on reservations, even if the reservation is located in a state where marijuana is illegal.
The government is to implement the decision on a case-by-case basis, and tribes will have to abide by eight federal guidelines in order to remain in the bounds of the rule. These include not selling the pot to minors nor moving it to areas that prohibit it.
