Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
While Montana lawmakers grapple to control a booming medical marijuana industry, the state's seven Indian reservations are islands where the drug is still illegal in all circumstances.
However, that doesn't stop the state from handing out medical marijuana cards to tribal members who get a doctor's approval.
Still, tribal members who use marijuana risk getting arrested, losing their jobs and being kicked out of their homes, regardless of whether they have a card.
Wesley Main Sr. is the unlikely leader trying to put legalizing medical marijuana before voters on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. A former prosecutor and public defender, Main said he isn't a medical marijuana patient himself and has no intention to become one if the tribe does legalize it.
"I do know people who are going through cancer treatment and do need this stuff," he said. "Our people could end up in the penitentiary and be put away for a long time."
As sovereign nations, each tribal government can pass laws stricter or more lenient than state or federal laws.
Vice Chairman of the Chippewa Cree Tribe Bruce Sunchild said sovereignty may exist in theory, but tribes are handcuffed and must follow federal law because they rely heavily on federal funding.
"As long as we need federal funding, we can't allow medical marijuana on the reservation," he said.
Chuck Council, spokesman for the Department of Public Health and Human Services, the state agency tasked with licensing medical marijuana patients and providers, said the state has no way of knowing how many tribal members have medical marijuana cards. He said asking potential patients if they are tribal members or if they live on a reservation would be discriminatory.
"There's really nothing we can do," Council said.
Nearly two-thirds of Montanans — including tribal members — voted in 2004 to legalize medical marijuana.
The change ruffled a few feathers for the first five years, but in the last two years the number of licensed patients went from approximately 2,000 to about 28,000.
The dramatic increase in the number of licensed patients probably was fueled by the Obama administration's decision to not prosecute medical marijuana patients under federal law and by traveling medical marijuana clinics that give people access to doctors who see marijuana as a safe alternative to traditional prescription medications.
FBI spokeswoman Debbie Dujanovic said federal agents who respond to felony crimes on Montana's reservations are following the U.S. Attorney General's directive to not pursue investigations or criminal charges against medical marijuana patients.
"We are looking at major grow operations, sale to minors and transportation of drugs across borders," Dujanovic said. "Those are the types of things that would draw federal interest. As for medical marijuana use, the tribal police can respond as they see fit."
The chief tribal prosecutor for the Blackfeet Reservation, Carl Pepion, said that, as the number of state cardholders exploded, he saw abuse of the law increase, including people illegally using medical marijuana and selling it to nonpatients on the reservation.
"You see almost everyday where someone is arrested with large amounts of marijuana, and they use the excuse that it's medical marijuana," Pepion said. "That's true off the reservation, and that's true on the reservation."
Nontribal members who live on the reservation can use medical marijuana on the reservation while patients who are tribal members can use medical marijuana only off the reservation.
Pepion said it doesn't matter if tribal patients follow the law to the letter. If they drive on the reservation possessing marijuana they can be arrested.
"The law is not confusing to us, but I think it is confusing for patients," he said.
Fort Peck Tribal Prosecutor Stacie Crawford said the number of medical marijuana patients on the reservation exploded after traveling doctor caravans arrived in Billings. People lined up at the mall there, paid $250 and were seen by a doctor who could approve them to use medical marijuana.
She said she has seen three cases in the past two years where cardholding tribal members tried to use their status as medical marijuana patients as a defense for drug possession. In none of the cases was the charge dismissed or the patient acquitted.
Fort Peck tribal officials have written letters and articles in the tribal newspaper to clarify the issue.
"Because it's legalized in the state, the perception that the drug is a bad thing has diminished significantly," she said. "It's made it difficult for us to make the people on the reservation aware that it is still illegal here."
Taj Riotutar is well aware the medicine he uses to relieve pain for a torn meniscus in his knee and a torn anterior cruciate ligament is illegal to use or possess in his Box Elder home.
A construction worker for 15 years, Riotutar beats up his body, bending, lifting and stooping every day.
The state licensed him as a patient and a provider, but he has to leave the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation to buy and use his medicine.
Riotutar approached the Chippewa Cree Tribal Council last month, asking its members to consider legalizing medical marijuana. The hearing drew crowds of supporters, but the council quickly voted down the idea out of fear of losing federal funding.
Riotutar said that since he outed himself as a medical marijuana cardholder, he has been told he can't return to his job with the Chippewa Cree Tribal Construction Company.
The federal government requires all tribal employees to pass drug tests when hired and to agree to random drug tests throughout their employment.
Sunchild said that having a medical marijuana card won't get people fired, but if tribal employees flunk a drug test, they will immediately lose their jobs. The tests are important for the construction company and take place more often than for other tribal companies because of the liability of having someone high on the job — given the inherent risks of the work.
"I've got to feed my family," Riotutar said. "I'm trained; I'm qualified to do the job. Because I am a known cardholder, they won't hire me back."
In addition to the possibility of being arrested, medical marijuana patients on reservations also risk losing their homes.
Many of the homes built on Montana's reservations rely on grants from the federal Housing and Urban Development agency.
To rent or buy one of these homes, tribal members sign leases agreeing that if alcohol or drugs are found inside, they will be kicked out.
Main said that one of the reasons he gathered only 120 signatures to petition the Fort Belknap Tribe to legalize medical marijuana is because patients are being threatened and fear being evicted.
Fort Belknap Tribal Council Chairman Tracy "Ching" King said he is not aware of any patients who have lost their homes, but said the law would allow it if they were caught using or possessing marijuana.
Chippewa Cree Housing Director Susie Hay said people have very few options of places to live on the reservation other tribal housing.
She said people who were arrested for selling pot out of their homes on the reservation have been evicted, but so far no medical marijuana patients have been kicked out.
Hay said tribal housing relies on police reports and criminal charges to determine if someone has drugs. The state's list of medical marijuana patients and providers is kept confidential.
The housing department does inspect the homes on occasion, but it must give tenants five days notice before doing so.
"The inspectors are looking for deterioration of the house," Hay said. "We're not looking in drawers or cupboards. Law enforcement has to have probable cause to go inside someone's home. We're not law enforcement."
The debate reminds Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person of a similar discussion more than 50 years ago.
Decades after prohibition ended, the tribe continued to outlaw the use and sale of alcohol on the reservation. The council agreed to allow it on the reservation in 1954.
"The people supporting it said 'if our boys can fight in wars, why can't they drink liquor?'" Old Person said. "There were bootleggers, and people went off the reservation to drink and then drove back."
Old Person was elected to the council for the first time just after that vote. That fall, two elderly ladies who argued most vehemently in support of legalizing alcohol, demanded that the tribe close the bars.
"We see the effects of it now," he said. "I don't think the tribal councils will be too quick to legalize something like medical marijuana."
Blackfeet Tribal Attorney Sandra Watts said no one has suggested legalizing medical marijuana, so at this point there is no debate, and the tribe has a zero-tolerance policy.
A year ago, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes discussed what the medical marijuana policy would be on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
Spokesman Robert McDonald said the tribes consulted cultural committees, which said marijuana was not part of the tribes' histories.
Though letters to the editor lobbied to legalize medical marijuana on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Crawford said no one has brought the issue to the council, which has been reluctant to debate the issue.
The Fort Belknap Tribal Council isn't eager to debate the issue either, but because Main has gathered enough signatures, it will decide Wednesday whether to put legalizing medical marijuana on the ballot for tribal voters to consider.
"Why would you even consider it?" King asked. "You're going to shoot yourself in the foot in so many different ways."
Main said it is important for residents to consider the possible consequences and vote on the issue. He added that whether the referendum passes or fails, the process will educate tribal members on the law and the risks of using marijuana even if a patient has a state license.
"We don't want this swept under the table," Main said. "This problem is not going to go away."
NewsHawk: Jim Behr: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: greatfallstribune.com
Author: Kim Skornogoski
Copyright: 2011 greatfallstribune.com
Contact: Contact Us | Great Falls Tribune
Website: Despite illegality, medical marijuana a growing issue for reservations
However, that doesn't stop the state from handing out medical marijuana cards to tribal members who get a doctor's approval.
Still, tribal members who use marijuana risk getting arrested, losing their jobs and being kicked out of their homes, regardless of whether they have a card.
Wesley Main Sr. is the unlikely leader trying to put legalizing medical marijuana before voters on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. A former prosecutor and public defender, Main said he isn't a medical marijuana patient himself and has no intention to become one if the tribe does legalize it.
"I do know people who are going through cancer treatment and do need this stuff," he said. "Our people could end up in the penitentiary and be put away for a long time."
As sovereign nations, each tribal government can pass laws stricter or more lenient than state or federal laws.
Vice Chairman of the Chippewa Cree Tribe Bruce Sunchild said sovereignty may exist in theory, but tribes are handcuffed and must follow federal law because they rely heavily on federal funding.
"As long as we need federal funding, we can't allow medical marijuana on the reservation," he said.
Chuck Council, spokesman for the Department of Public Health and Human Services, the state agency tasked with licensing medical marijuana patients and providers, said the state has no way of knowing how many tribal members have medical marijuana cards. He said asking potential patients if they are tribal members or if they live on a reservation would be discriminatory.
"There's really nothing we can do," Council said.
Nearly two-thirds of Montanans — including tribal members — voted in 2004 to legalize medical marijuana.
The change ruffled a few feathers for the first five years, but in the last two years the number of licensed patients went from approximately 2,000 to about 28,000.
The dramatic increase in the number of licensed patients probably was fueled by the Obama administration's decision to not prosecute medical marijuana patients under federal law and by traveling medical marijuana clinics that give people access to doctors who see marijuana as a safe alternative to traditional prescription medications.
FBI spokeswoman Debbie Dujanovic said federal agents who respond to felony crimes on Montana's reservations are following the U.S. Attorney General's directive to not pursue investigations or criminal charges against medical marijuana patients.
"We are looking at major grow operations, sale to minors and transportation of drugs across borders," Dujanovic said. "Those are the types of things that would draw federal interest. As for medical marijuana use, the tribal police can respond as they see fit."
The chief tribal prosecutor for the Blackfeet Reservation, Carl Pepion, said that, as the number of state cardholders exploded, he saw abuse of the law increase, including people illegally using medical marijuana and selling it to nonpatients on the reservation.
"You see almost everyday where someone is arrested with large amounts of marijuana, and they use the excuse that it's medical marijuana," Pepion said. "That's true off the reservation, and that's true on the reservation."
Nontribal members who live on the reservation can use medical marijuana on the reservation while patients who are tribal members can use medical marijuana only off the reservation.
Pepion said it doesn't matter if tribal patients follow the law to the letter. If they drive on the reservation possessing marijuana they can be arrested.
"The law is not confusing to us, but I think it is confusing for patients," he said.
Fort Peck Tribal Prosecutor Stacie Crawford said the number of medical marijuana patients on the reservation exploded after traveling doctor caravans arrived in Billings. People lined up at the mall there, paid $250 and were seen by a doctor who could approve them to use medical marijuana.
She said she has seen three cases in the past two years where cardholding tribal members tried to use their status as medical marijuana patients as a defense for drug possession. In none of the cases was the charge dismissed or the patient acquitted.
Fort Peck tribal officials have written letters and articles in the tribal newspaper to clarify the issue.
"Because it's legalized in the state, the perception that the drug is a bad thing has diminished significantly," she said. "It's made it difficult for us to make the people on the reservation aware that it is still illegal here."
Taj Riotutar is well aware the medicine he uses to relieve pain for a torn meniscus in his knee and a torn anterior cruciate ligament is illegal to use or possess in his Box Elder home.
A construction worker for 15 years, Riotutar beats up his body, bending, lifting and stooping every day.
The state licensed him as a patient and a provider, but he has to leave the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation to buy and use his medicine.
Riotutar approached the Chippewa Cree Tribal Council last month, asking its members to consider legalizing medical marijuana. The hearing drew crowds of supporters, but the council quickly voted down the idea out of fear of losing federal funding.
Riotutar said that since he outed himself as a medical marijuana cardholder, he has been told he can't return to his job with the Chippewa Cree Tribal Construction Company.
The federal government requires all tribal employees to pass drug tests when hired and to agree to random drug tests throughout their employment.
Sunchild said that having a medical marijuana card won't get people fired, but if tribal employees flunk a drug test, they will immediately lose their jobs. The tests are important for the construction company and take place more often than for other tribal companies because of the liability of having someone high on the job — given the inherent risks of the work.
"I've got to feed my family," Riotutar said. "I'm trained; I'm qualified to do the job. Because I am a known cardholder, they won't hire me back."
In addition to the possibility of being arrested, medical marijuana patients on reservations also risk losing their homes.
Many of the homes built on Montana's reservations rely on grants from the federal Housing and Urban Development agency.
To rent or buy one of these homes, tribal members sign leases agreeing that if alcohol or drugs are found inside, they will be kicked out.
Main said that one of the reasons he gathered only 120 signatures to petition the Fort Belknap Tribe to legalize medical marijuana is because patients are being threatened and fear being evicted.
Fort Belknap Tribal Council Chairman Tracy "Ching" King said he is not aware of any patients who have lost their homes, but said the law would allow it if they were caught using or possessing marijuana.
Chippewa Cree Housing Director Susie Hay said people have very few options of places to live on the reservation other tribal housing.
She said people who were arrested for selling pot out of their homes on the reservation have been evicted, but so far no medical marijuana patients have been kicked out.
Hay said tribal housing relies on police reports and criminal charges to determine if someone has drugs. The state's list of medical marijuana patients and providers is kept confidential.
The housing department does inspect the homes on occasion, but it must give tenants five days notice before doing so.
"The inspectors are looking for deterioration of the house," Hay said. "We're not looking in drawers or cupboards. Law enforcement has to have probable cause to go inside someone's home. We're not law enforcement."
The debate reminds Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person of a similar discussion more than 50 years ago.
Decades after prohibition ended, the tribe continued to outlaw the use and sale of alcohol on the reservation. The council agreed to allow it on the reservation in 1954.
"The people supporting it said 'if our boys can fight in wars, why can't they drink liquor?'" Old Person said. "There were bootleggers, and people went off the reservation to drink and then drove back."
Old Person was elected to the council for the first time just after that vote. That fall, two elderly ladies who argued most vehemently in support of legalizing alcohol, demanded that the tribe close the bars.
"We see the effects of it now," he said. "I don't think the tribal councils will be too quick to legalize something like medical marijuana."
Blackfeet Tribal Attorney Sandra Watts said no one has suggested legalizing medical marijuana, so at this point there is no debate, and the tribe has a zero-tolerance policy.
A year ago, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes discussed what the medical marijuana policy would be on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
Spokesman Robert McDonald said the tribes consulted cultural committees, which said marijuana was not part of the tribes' histories.
Though letters to the editor lobbied to legalize medical marijuana on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Crawford said no one has brought the issue to the council, which has been reluctant to debate the issue.
The Fort Belknap Tribal Council isn't eager to debate the issue either, but because Main has gathered enough signatures, it will decide Wednesday whether to put legalizing medical marijuana on the ballot for tribal voters to consider.
"Why would you even consider it?" King asked. "You're going to shoot yourself in the foot in so many different ways."
Main said it is important for residents to consider the possible consequences and vote on the issue. He added that whether the referendum passes or fails, the process will educate tribal members on the law and the risks of using marijuana even if a patient has a state license.
"We don't want this swept under the table," Main said. "This problem is not going to go away."
NewsHawk: Jim Behr: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: greatfallstribune.com
Author: Kim Skornogoski
Copyright: 2011 greatfallstribune.com
Contact: Contact Us | Great Falls Tribune
Website: Despite illegality, medical marijuana a growing issue for reservations
