Hemp and Cannabis Go Native (American)

Since the Native Americans were the first to settle in the US, maybe they can also be the first to demonstrate that both hemp and cannabis can be a huge benefit to their culture and ours. While the battle rages at the DEA and with the Attorney General's office over whether either cannabis or hemp are a drug, Native Americans are quietly planting hemp and opening dispensaries on their tribal lands throughout the west. Of course, this new twist is causing even more of a debate, as Native Americans have achieved sovereignty on their tribal lands, so are exempt from federal taxes. This is the root of the issue really, as some states are exchanging sovereignty for cannabis/hemp licenses. Their argument is that Puerto Rico and Guam, both territories, but not states, have been granted cannabis licenses; however, Native Americans, who live in the continental United States, are being denied.

While famous chiefs like Chief Billie from the Seminoles (get quote from him) introduced Native Americans to the gaming industry, this time, Native Americans are returning to their natural and plant roots with hemp and cannabis. Chief Billie has recently joined forces with Leslie Bosckor of Electrum Partners in Las Vegas to educate Native American tribes about the benefits of cannabis and how to profitly grow and sell it. “You have to go to the place where the climate is already right. You don’t want to start any controversy,” Billie said. “We juggled around whether [cannabis] is worth getting into, whether it’s worth the headache,” he said. “The biggest problem we always ran into is we don’t have the right expertise. So, [Electrum] has the right connections, the right funding, the right development. “Whether it’s the Seminoles or others, we see this as the first step toward having a regulatory framework that allows cultivation, extraction, manufacturing and distillation on Native American land,” said Bocskor.

Nevada is proving to be the battleground for Native American cannabis, as the Nevada Paiute Indians have opened not only the largest dispensary on tribal grounds called NuWu, but the largest retail dispensary in the US. Like many other Native American tribes, they've struggled with poverty, depression, and alcoholism. With only 56 adult members remaining, the Paiutes were facing losing their tribe. Up until now, the Las Vegas Paiute Smoke Shop had provided them with 90 percent of its revenue. With the tribe's economic stability at stake, tribal leaders were searching for new ways to leverage the smoke shop for a much needed revenue boost.

Thanks to the help of company named Ultra Health, founded in Arizona in 2011, they recognized right away how well-positioned the Natives were to positively utilize cannabis in this country. The Native American infrastructure was already in place with many competitive advantages—they owned land, they had water and access to power, and they had a historical and cultural tie to cannabis and natural healing. Most importantly, they also had a distribution network—smoke shops, reservations, and casinos across the country. Cannabis could level the playing field for all tribes, leveraging what they learned from the casino industry and taking it to the next level.

Maybe because of the huge cannabis market in California, along with a waiting list, Native Americans are up against stiff resistance by the state of California. So much so that an association was formed, the California Native American Cannabis Association or C-NACA to educate Native American tribes about the procedures to obtain a cannabis license. In northern California, the local tribes have encountered difficulties, especially in Medicino County. For example, when the Pinoleville Pomo Nation announced plans for a large-scale medical cannabis cultivation in 2015, the Mendocino Sheriff’s Office raided their property shortly after opening, removing nearly 100 pounds of dried flower and hundreds of plants. They also raided the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, removing more than 800 plants from their property. They filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office earlier this year requesting $25,000 in damages.

In southern California, however, the Lipay Nation in Southern California found a successful operation by creating a cannabis enterprise not requiring a financial investment that still brought in revenue. They simply leased tribal land for growing cannabis, taxed licensed dispensaries and charged regulatory fees. The tribe now has six cultivators, one testing lab and one distillation facility, all run by non-tribal tenants. Their cannabis is strictly for medical use and goes to licensed dispensaries outside of tribal land. Discussions are ongoing between the Governor of California and the California tribes to negotiate a contract that works for everyone.

Some of the more conservative tribes are choosing to cultivate hemp, which is actually an industrial product that has very little THC and can't get you high. It has thousands of uses, including nutritional supplements, paper, building materials, bio-degradable plastic, to name a few. Cannabis, on the other hand, has many more medicinal properties and is just starting to be discovered and recognized as a medicinal plant.

The choice of hemp or cannabis also varies from tribe to tribe. For example, in Washington State, the Colville Tribes chose hemp, because it had a wider agricultural application and a more positive economic impact on the tribe. The 2014 Farm Bill authorized production of hemp in the legal states, hence, Washington legalized hemp and issued one of its first permits to the Colville Tribes. “We have seen successful hemp production Canada and in states like Colorado and Vermont, so we’re pleased to begin this process,' Marchand said. (who is he)

The Navaho nation, too, signed a resolution to grow industrial hemp on their tribal lands in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. They are working with CannaNative, a consulting organization assisting tribes .“I believe that the Indian cannabis industry will far surpass the Indian gaming industry,” said CannaNative CEO Anthony Rivera. While gaming has been lucrative, it hasn’t benefited all tribes and casino growth numbers are slowing. The Indian community sees industrial hemp as a revenue source that will level the playing field for all tribes.

With over 600 Native American tribes across the country, most will at some point be actively engaged in cannabis. Whether the tribes can unify their efforts against the federal government will be the game changer. Because of their unique relationship with only the federal government, they can leverage their power more effectively. The question is whether the federal government will then reciprocate.

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