Could there be a loophole in selling Recreational Marijuana in Mississippi?
Could Mississippi's Choctaw Tribe Follow North Carolina's Cherokee in Selling Recreational Marijuana?
In July, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina started selling recreational marijuana on a limited basis, despite the fact that state legislators have not legalized the drug for medical or recreational purposes.
Why?
Because they can.
The Asheville Citizen Times reported the marijuana market has been touted as a huge economic boon for the EBCI, even as the drug remains illegal in North Carolina.
President Joe Biden in May moved to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug, meaning it could eventually become federally legal to prescribe marijuana as medication.
For Mississippi, that leads one to ask, if the Cherokee in North Carolina can begin to sell recreational marijuana in a state that doesn't have any regulations backing cannabis sales, could the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians do the same thing in the Magnolia State?
The short answer is yes.
Why?
Because they can.
The Clarion Ledger spoke with multiple attorneys with experience in the medical and recreation marijuana industry, and all said the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians could begin selling cannabis for recreational use if they had gone through the regulatory process.
"What I can say that the MS Band of Choctaw Indians could open a cannabis grow and distribution facility," said Rod Kight, a cannabis lawyer and advocate from North Carolina, who focuses on legal support to all sectors of the industry. "(MCBI can) because, as a sovereign body, they can choose to legalize within their borders, despite federal or state law. There are many ramifications and issues that this raises, but generally speaking, they can do it. In fact, it will be much like a state legalizing and setting up a grow and distribution program."
In North Carolina, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians viewed the introduction of recreational cannabis as a revenue stream much like the introduction of gaming, which has proven to be a huge money maker throughout the years.
Here, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has been at the forefront in the gaming industry, having opened its first casino, Silver Star, in 1994. The MBCI makes sure to bill itself as "a federally recognized, self-governing tribe with over 10,000 members living on or near reservation land."
It is those words that make recreational marijuana possible as well.
The key, according to multiple attorneys in the cannabis industry, is that MBCI would have to grow, sell and test on tribal grounds. The product could not be transported off tribal lands, because Mississippi does not allow for recreational cannabis.
The start of recreational sales in North Carolina comes after the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council passed an official resolution in June to allow the sale of recreational marijuana on Cherokee territory.
In Mississippi, the same thing would have to happen.
However, Misty Brescia, the director of public information for MCBI says that is not on the radar for Mississippi's tribal lands.
"Yes, I think so. I think we could. The federal government changed the rules so that Tribes could grow, sell, etc. marijuana," Brescia said. "However, our code (laws) still says marijuana is illegal on Mississippi Choctaw Tribal Lands. Until that is changed, which is a Tribal Council decision, this isn’t even a possibility for us."
However, she did say if the Tribal Council wanted to take it up, the voting process likely would not take long.
Slates Veazey, an attorney with Bradley Arant in Jackson, represents clients with a specific understanding of the cannabis industry. He also says, it's not a matter of if MBCI can sell, it's a matter of wanting to sell.
"Yes, I believe they (could produce and sell), but that does not come without concerns and challenges," Veazy said. "If the Choctaw tribe would change their code or constitution to allow for recreational cannabis, all of those activities would have to remain on tribal land."
So, if MBCI decided to produce, test and sell on the site of their hotels and casinos for guests who travel on site, they could, according to all attorneys the Clarion Ledger talked with. The caveat is any recreational product could not be taken off of tribal lands, because Mississippi law prohibits recreational cannabis.
The point, at least for now, is moot until the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians chooses to change its code in reference to all cannabis.
