Pubdate: Sun, 14 Dec 2014
Source: Buffalo News (NY)
Copyright: 2014 The Buffalo News
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/GXIzebQL
Website: http://www.buffalonews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/61
Author: Dan Herbeck
Page: A1

MOVE MIGHT PAVE WAY FOR POT SALES ON INDIAN LAND

U.S. Policy Change Raises Possibility of Legalization

The U.S. Justice Department last week said it no longer intends to 
prosecute federal laws regulating the growing or selling of marijuana 
on Indian reservations, as long as tribes take steps to control 
marijuana sales.

That memo has left many Indian tribes  the Seneca Nation among them 
wondering if they will be allowed someday to legally grow and sell 
marijuana on their reservations .

It is too early to tell whether the Senecas or any other tribe in New 
York State will be allowed to start legal marijuana businesses, said 
Martin E. Seneca Jr., chief counsel for the Seneca Nation.

"But we're certainly going to watch this closely, and if it becomes a 
viable opportunity for economic growth for our people, we might get 
excited about it," Seneca added.

A close aide and adviser to Seneca Nation President Maurice "Mo" 
John, Seneca spoke to The Buffalo News after the Justice Department 
released a policy memo last week regarding the prosecution of 
marijuana crimes on Indian reservations.

The government memo said federal prosecutors will no longer prosecute 
marijuana crimes on Indian reservations, as long as tribes take 
certain steps to control marijuana sales  such as preventing sales to 
minors, preventing profits from going to drug gangs or cartels, and 
preventing "violence and the use of firearms" linked to marijuana sales.

Some legal experts believe the Justice Department's action may be the 
first step toward legalized marijuana businesses on Indian lands, 
even in states such as New York where it is illegal to sell marijuana 
for recreational use. Experts say such businesses could make billions 
of dollars annually throughout the nation, experts say.

While the Seneca Nation is interested in how the issue develops, 
Martin Seneca said the tribal government is taking a cautious approach.

"We're just learning about the action taken by the federal 
government. It appears that the government is basically telling us 
that we can grow marijuana, but only for consumption on our own 
territories, with no prosecution from the federal government," Seneca said.

"At this point, we can't see ourselves as a haven for people to come 
to our territories to smoke up ... We're not going to just create 
smokehouses where potheads can come onto our land to smoke up."

If Indian tribes were allowed to legally grow and sell marijuana to 
customers off the reservations, Seneca said, "we've got a very 
independent, entrepreneurial group" of business people who might be interested.

Three other lawyers - Onondaga tribe general counsel Joseph J. Heath, 
Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III and Margaret A. 
Murphy, who has represented many Seneca business people - said 
several obstacles exist that would have to be dealt with before 
tribal marijuana sales could become legal.

Regardless of any policy shift by federal prosecutors, it remains 
illegal under state law to sell marijuana in New York State, Sedita said.

"The federal people prosecute laws under federal law, and we 
prosecute cases under state law," Sedita said. "So what happens on 
the federal side really doesn't affect us."

While most major drug prosecutions in Western New York usually 
involve harder drugs such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine or 
illegally sold prescription drugs, some people are still prosecuted 
for illegally selling pot, usually in larger amounts, Sedita said.

In Heath's view, some Indian tribe leaders would be strongly opposed 
to selling marijuana  even if it became legal - because of the 
heartache that drug abuse has caused for their people.

Based south of Syracuse in Onondaga County, the Onondaga tribe has 
traditionalist leaders who are strongly opposed to the use of 
marijuana and other drugs, Heath said.

Many national studies by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration have shown that drug use is a bigger problem 
for Indians than for other ethnic groups. A study conducted by the 
agency in 2012 reported American Indians and Alaskan natives have by 
far the highest percentage of illegal drug use and the highest rate 
of drug-induced deaths of any ethnic group in the nation.

"In Onondaga, they're absolutely opposed to it," Heath said of 
marijuana sales. "Drugs are a serious problem for them, and they 
already spend a lot of time trying to keep this stuff out of their community."

But Heath added that the leaders of other tribes in New York State 
may look at the issue differently. He said he has spoken to some 
Indian leaders who feel the cultivation and use of marijuana is "part 
of their heritage."

Murphy, a former judge who represents many Seneca businesses, said 
she has already taken a call from one businessman who asked her about 
the possibility of legalized pot sales on reservation lands. But she 
said she cannot imagine that being allowed - at least in this state - 
in the foreseeable future.

"Right now, it's just a policy change by the U.S. Justice Department. 
It's not an act of Congress, or a change in the laws," Murphy said. 
"The next U.S. attorney general or the next president could change 
the policy. At this point, I don't see this change causing much of 
anything to happen, especially in New York State."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom