Ho-Chunk Nation Will Decriminalize Cannabis on Tribal Lands

Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 -- 9:01 AM

(Robert D’Andrea, Wisconsin Public Radio) The Ho-Chunk Nation will decriminalize cannabis on tribal lands and Ho-Chunk police will not issue citations for possession, according to an announcement released April 30.

According to Robert D'Andrea with Wisconsin Public Radio, while advocates celebrate this as a step toward legalization, tribal law experts advise the drug is still illegal.

“This is a step in the process for them to get to a spot where they are not just decriminalizing, but feel that they can put in a regulatory structure to cultivate, grow, or possess hemp,” said Rob Pero, founder of the nonprofit Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association.

Still, legal experts question how quickly any broader change can happen. “It remains illegal under state law and federal law,” said Scott Idleman, a professor at Marquette University Law School. An FAQ distributed within the Ho-Chunk nation indicates county or state police could still issue citations, Pero said.

Wisconsin is one of six states that has criminal jurisdiction over Native Americans on reservation land under a law known as Public Law 280. The law applies to all federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin except for the Menominee, which is under the jurisdiction of the federal government. That could make it difficult to set up businesses that cultivate or sell cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes, Idleman said.

“They may have a hard time raising capital or getting business partners,” Idleman said. It could even deter customers who now travel to neighboring states where cannabis is currently legal, he said. It is a federal offense to transport marijuana from a state where it is legal, like Illinois, Michigan or Minnesota, but prosecutions have not been a priority for the government, Idleman said.

“There’s no stakeout on the border, right?” he said. “It would seem somewhat discriminatory to then go after the tribe or people doing business with the tribe as if it’s some aberration when in fact your citizens are doing this all the time just by leaving the state and then coming back.”

Tribes may have to make a political calculation about how likely other governments are to intervene. Recent efforts to legalize marijuana for medicinal use stalled in the state Legislature.

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