The Feds have raided two huge commercial-scale marijuana operations on separate Native American reservations in Alturas, California, (far north-eastern corner of the state). Refer to this link.
While medicinal pot is legal in California, the potential output of the operations would have far exceeded the retail market within the state. The question, of course, is where the tribes were going to sell the excess. The matter is further complicated by the fact that a foreign tobacco company, based in Canada, was the primary mover behind the project.
Many tribes have been relegated under treaty to remote reservations which make it extremely difficult for them to have any significant economic development. The advent of casino gaming has helped to alleviate that problem to a certain extent, and here is where the point of this post is going to lead. In the initial start-up days of tribal gaming, many sinister criminal elements tried to horn in on the action and take control; they saw tribal lands as being a safe haven for their schemes.
The federal government eventually stepped in and established laws and regulations by which tribes must operate in order to keep out the crooks and shysters.
The next move on tribal lands was the establishment of "payday loan" operations, whereby borrowers are charged exorbitant rates of interest in order to borrow money until their next paycheck. These internet-based operations spread across the United States and sucked borrowers dry, (a large percentage of them were tribal members). Such operations are now under investigations for racketeering and corruption charges. Tribes are getting a big black eye over the issue.
Now comes the growing of pot. Tribal lands offer some legal barriers for the investor, and having plantations on tribal lands is attractive for many reasons. The growing, possession or sale of pot on federal lands is against federal law, which theoretically means it is against the law for a tribe to grow on tribal lands. But, the legal argument is that the tribal lands are not actually federal lands; that they are simply held in trust for the tribes and that the tribes are the real owners, making them exempt from such laws. On that basis, the feds have said they will allow such plantations providing certain rules are followed.
But, these operations are just in the embryo stages and in the case of the Pit River Tribe's XL Ranch and the Alturas Rancheria, it appears those guidelines and regulations are rudimentary are not being followed. Once again, it appears on the face of it that a foreign investor, possibly connected to a drug cartel, is planning to have a marijuana grow on tribal lands and to sell the end product nationally, and not necessarily confined to legal sales.
It seems that the name of the game, if you are going to do something shady, is to home-base your operation on tribal lands. What is happening in northeastern California could be only the beginning of many more, and different, problems to come.
That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.
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