Dakotas tribes react to fed marijuana decision

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – The federal government says it’s OK for tribes to grow and sell marijuana on reservations, but tribes in the Dakotas don’t appear to be jumping at the opportunity.

U.S. Attorney for North Dakota Timothy Purdon says he’s not aware of any tribes in the two states actively considering a marijuana industry.

The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council this year rejected a proposal to allow marijuana on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Law and Order Committee Chairwoman Ellen Fills the Pipe says marijuana is a drug, and her gut feeling is that the tribe won’t allow its cultivation.

Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault (AHR’-sham-boh) says the tribe might consider marijuana’s cousin, hemp, but the federal government would have to allow interstate transport for it to be a profitable venture.