Pubdate: Tue, 14 Jul 2015
Source: Herald and News (Klamath Falls, OR)
Copyright: 2015 Herald and News
Contact:  http://www.heraldandnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2600
Author: Lee Juillerat

TRIBAL CHAIRMAN SAYS GROUP IS FOLLOWING THE LAW

Details of the Pit River Tribe's marijuana grow operation in Modoc 
County, near Alturas, have been released by tribal Chairman Mickey Gemmill Jr.

He said earlier this year, the Pit River Tribe "joined the ranks of 
California and nearly two dozen other state governments by adopting a 
regulatory program that legalizes the cultivation of medical 
marijuana on tribal land. The tribe's decision was in response to the 
Oct. 28, 2014, guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice 
indicating that such activity would not trigger federal enforcement 
action, provided that measures were taken to prevent delineated 
conduct of concern to law enforcement.

"The tribe's Medical Marijuana Program Ordinance is consistent with 
California's two laws governing cultivation, distribution and use of 
medical marijuana, the Compassionate Use Act and the Medical 
Marijuana Program Act, and in fact, goes well beyond those statutes 
to ensure compliance with the eight federal law enforcement 
priorities," Gemmill said.

"Tribal law requires that all medical marijuana be grown only for 
qualified medical marijuana patients residing in California. The 
tribe also has adopted stringent regulations on inventory control, 
quality assurance, site security, member-patient criteria, plant 
tracking and plant limits, among other requirements, all of which go 
much further than the laws of the state."

According to Gemmill, the Medical Marijuana Program "authorizes the 
cooperative association of qualified patients to cultivate marijuana 
for medical use, as long as they operate on a non-profit basis. No 
other individual or entity is permitted to cultivate marijuana on 
tribal land. In accordance with these laws, Pomari-Awte, an arm of 
the tribe with authority to administer the operational aspects of the 
Medical Marijuana Program, approved the creation of a patient 
cooperative to cultivate medical marijuana on the Tribe's land in 
Modoc County. Thereafter, program administrators reviewed and 
approved membership applications from qualified patients wishing to 
join the cooperative, known as High Desert Farms."

Gemmill said the tribe created an independent regulatory agency to 
monitor and oversee the program to ensure compliance with tribal law, 
relevant federal policy and applicable California law.

"Each medical marijuana plant is assigned to a particular patient, 
with each plant bearing the identification of the patient for whom it 
is cultivated and a unique serial number to ensure that each plant 
can be tracked. Again, these provisions go far beyond anything 
required by California state law, and are modeled after the more 
robust regulatory schemes in other medical marijuana states," Gemmill added.

He said the tribe is experienced at operating within highly regulated 
industries, noting, "We've managed a well-regulated gaming facility 
for 19 years and felt very comfortable creating a robust regulatory 
environment for the Medical Marijuana Program."

"The Oct. 28, 2014, Department of Justice's guidance memorandum 
addressing marijuana operations in Indian Country expressly instructs 
each U.S. Attorney to meaningfully engage in government-to-government 
consultation with Indian tribes in their district that seek to 
authorize marijuana activity on tribal lands," Gemmill said in the release.

"We have been transparent in our conversations with the federal 
government and made no secret of our intent to exercise our 
sovereignty in the manner we believe appropriate. We consulted with 
the U.S. Attorney's Office prior to implementing our ordinance and 
continued to consult with that office and other government officials 
throughout its implementation."

He said the tribe provided the attorney's office a copy of the 
Medical Marijuana Program Ordinance and a comparative analysis of how 
the program complies with the guidance memorandum and compares to 
state and local laws.

"We pointed out the regulatory safeguards adopted by the tribe to 
comply with the enforcement priorities outlined by the Department of 
Justice in the guidance memo," Gemmill said. "We asked the U.S. 
Attorney's Office to identify any concerns and to advise the tribal 
government before taking any enforcement action against the tribal project."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom