Tribes pursue retail cannabis

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in on cannabis. Welcome back. Another Wisconsin tribe now exploring the possibility in conversations of legalizing and selling marijuana on tribal property. Despite it still being illegal in Wisconsin. And federally, the secure and Chippewa community and Forest County now partnering with the Wisconsin based Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association and exploring the possibility of entering the cannabis industry. It follows bad River Ojibwe announcing it’s also potentially pursuing a cannabis business on its own reservation in northern Wisconsin. Rob Petros, founder and CEO of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association, which is hosting a discussion on the issue this week. Rob, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. Of course. So let’s talk about how does this all happen? Is there only way to make this happen for individual tribes to come up with a new contract with the state? Or what’s the thought here on how to make this this actually come to life? Well, I think there’s just a lot of education that has to happen first. And right now, we’re collecting data and providing provide providing feasibility toolkits for the tribes. And this was really born out of a necessity in our state, kind of being a gray state. You know, having hemp come through in the 2018 farm bill and then watching the states around us sort of pop and go adult use, you know, the tribes in our state have been asking a lot of questions. And there’s tribes, you know, friendly tribes in the Great Lakes region that are operating already that want to share their knowledge so that we can be better resourced when we do enter the industry. But right now, it’s a lot of education at this point. Would you like to see or do you think there’s a scenario where tribes would move forward with any type of legalization or retail with out any changes in state or federal law? I think that’s definitely a possibility. And that’s really what’s exciting about it. And this is, I think the first time ever you’ve seen Tribes kind of look to pool resources around emerging industries that we know can build economies. And this isn’t just, you know, selling weed at the gas station. This is medicine. This is industrial hemp. This is housing, biofuels. This is making our communities healthier, you know, reducing the opioid epidemic. So, you know, tribes are really looking at this as a way to make their communities healthier, better and stronger. And they’re not going to wait on the state to to let them decide when that’s the right time. How close are we to that? Are we talking months, years? Well, you’re seeing tribes, you know, come forward and join us publicly. Now, typically, it’s been a lot of development arms DON’T HAVE THOSE ARMS YET. SO THEY’RE LOOKING TO JUST GAIN THE KNOWLEDGE AND, YOU KNOW, WE’VE SEEN NOT JUST ONE BUT ANOTHER. FOND DU LAC TRIBE OF MINNESOTA JUST JOINED AS WELL. AND WE HAVE A FEW OTHERS IN THE HOPPERS. SO WE’RE REALLY SEEING THE TRIBE STARTING TO GET ORGANIZED AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY’RE OPPORTUNITIES REALLY ARE AND HOW TO LEVERAGE THEM. IN 2014, THERE WAS A MEMO FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE THAT KIND OF GAVE SOME GUIDANCE ON THIS ISSUE IN THE SENSE THAT REALLY LEAVING IT UP TO TO DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS, JURISDICTIONS OF FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, THEIR DISCRETION TO ENFORCE SOME OF THESE LAWS. CURIOUS, YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT. YEAH, YOU KNOW, IT’S WE’VE WHAT WE’VE HEARD NOW IS THAT THEY’RE NOT GOING TO ENFORCE THOSE LAWS, YOU KNOW, AND THERE ARE GROUPS LIKE THE EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE OUT IN NORTH CAROLINA THAT HAVE FLEXED THEIR SOVEREIGNTY MUSCLE AND MOVED WITH MEDICINAL BEFORE THE STATE DID. SO IT’S REALLY JUST ABOUT WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE STATE? WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? AND, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU UTILIZING GROUPS LIKE I.C.E. TO LOBBY AND BUILD EQUITY IN YOUR DATA SO THAT YOU CAN MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO MOVE IN THAT SPACE? BECAUSE THERE TRULY ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THAT. AND THE TREATY RIGHTS THAT WE HAVE SUPERSEDE, YOU KNOW, THE SCHEDULE ONE, YOU KNOW, FEDERAL STATUTES THAT THAT PLACE MARIJUANA WHERE IT IS SO WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES. WE JUST HAVE TO HAVE THE CONFIDENCE AND THE LEGAL BACKBONE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THEM. A FASCINATING CONVERSATION IN THE WEEKS AND MONTHS AHEAD. ROB HARROW, FOUNDER AND CEO OF THE INDIGENOUS CANNABIS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION. ROB, HEY, THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND PERSPECTIVE. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE TIME. THANK YOU BOTH. UP NEXT, THE SALES T