U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., announced Wednesday he plans to introduce a bill prohibiting the federal government from denying federal dollars to a tribe because of their marijuana policy.
The bill, dubbed the Tribal Marijuana Sovereignty Act, would liberalize the application of marijuana legislation for tribes. While it would not outright legalize marijuana or hemp cultivation on tribal lands, it would prevent the federal government from denying federal money based on the practice.
It would also allow doctors in Indian Health Service facilities to discuss marijuana with patients, a practice that is usually barred for physicians. It also prevents residents in public housing on reservations from being evicted for possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana.
“I strongly believe states should be allowed to enact their own marijuana laws, and have consistently supported attempts to ensure federal laws do not interfere with them,” Pocan said in a statement. “I’m also an ardent supporter of tribal sovereignty, which is why I introduced this bill forbidding the federal government from considering marijuana production, possession, or sale as an adverse factor when disbursing federal funds."
The bill comes after two of Wisconsin’s federally recognized tribes—the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Menominee Nation—legalized marijuana on their lands.
But despite a 2014 Department of Justice memo, which seemingly said the federal government will not enforce tribal marijuana, law enforcement has cracked down on the practice. In October, the Drug Enforcement Agency raided the Menominee Nation over its burgeoning marijuana operation, a case which is now in federal court.
At the time, Menominee chairman Gary Besaw criticized the raid, claiming the 2014 Farm Bill allows his tribe to cultivate marijuana and industrial hemp.
Pocan’s proposal will now be circulated for co-sponsorship.
