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Did Native Americans Smoke Weed Or Other Concentrates?

Byking_adm on April 23, 2021

The history of cannabis use throughout different cultures always tends to spark some interest in some people, and that leads us to the use of cannabis on reservations. A while back, the Department of Justice stated that they wouldn’t prosecute if they found cannabis in the possession of anyone on tribal land. That means that even if it’s a crime to possess cannabis in the state, it won’t be on the reservation. The reservations still have to meet some guidelines outlined in the memorandum, but it will basically be legal in a similar way as it is in Colorado. It’s useful to do a little history lesson every once in a while, so did native Americans smoke weed?

Cannabis Throughout Tribal Land

Over the past few years, there have been different tribes ranging from California all the way to New York that has been legalizing cannabis. Pinoleville Pomo tribe is one such example of a tribe that has begun a cannabis growing operation. Their growth operation is known to be the first one that has ever started on tribal land. Recently, the Mendocino deputies did a full raid on the reserve, eradicating over 400 plants. They did this because the tribe violated the limit of having only a maximum of 25 plants on each lot. Leaders of the tribe have stated that the sheriff went way beyond their authority during the raid.

The Menominee Nation located in Wisconsin also promoted the legalization of industrial hemp. This was done under the 2014 Farm Bill. In their case, the hemp was only grown strictly for research. Shortly after that, there were search warrants into cannabis grow operations located on reserve land, and agents seized over 30,00 plants that weighed thousands and thousands of pounds. One reason that this raid was conducted was that people that weren’t part of the Menominee Nation were doing business on the land.

The Omaha tribe that’s located in Nebraska has been looking into cannabis grow operations and has since been approved for medicinal cannabis.

A tribal law professional located in Nebraska has said that the legalization of cannabis and hemp doesn’t permit tribes to actually legalize it, but instead gives them the chance to communicate with U.S. attorneys on the matter to reach a negotiation as time progresses. there have been U.S. attorneys throughout a lot of the U.S. that haven’t budged on permitting tribes to continue with legalization.

When it comes to reservations, things start to get a little complicated, and the legalization of cannabis is no different. There are many grey spots to account for, and even more so in the states that currently have no cannabis legalization in place. One attorney stated that the Department of Justice will hold the right to prosecute anyone that provides cannabis to underage people or in cases where the money earned from selling the cannabis is used for activities that are criminal in nature.

There are tribes that see cannabis growing as something they can make big money on. Other tribes are still working through the many hurdles of even thinking about it.

The Lucrative Nature Of Cannabis

It’s been noted that over 40% of people in the White Earth tribe consume cannabis. Millions of dollars are spent on importing cannabis from the black market right into tribal territory, and that puts a strain on the finances of the tribe. Some estimates state that around $60,000 of tribal money is being spent per week on cannabis. This adds up to about $3 million a year being spent on cannabis from some of the poorest parts of the country. Would tribes be able to put a halt to that financial hardship by growing cannabis on their land?

The current law doesn’t permit tribes to sell cannabis outside of the reserve unless they are in a state that has already legalized cannabis. Pineoville Pomo is one such example of this.

What Are Some Health Benefits Of Cannabis?

There have been many different studies into the different benefits of cannabis consumption:

It has helped people with:

• Glaucoma
• Fibromyalgia
• Epilepsy
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Seizures
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Native Americans are known to have the most cases of PTSD of anyone, and cannabis has been known to really assist people that deal with it on a daily basis. With certain medical conditions, sometimes people resort to cannabis use because the side effects aren’t as potent as the side effects from the drugs.

Cannabis can be used effectively in many different ailments. While it’s not a cure-all to everyone’s problems, it can definitely be medicinally used in many cases. The indigenous population has a goal to restore their relationship with plants in a respectful and caring way. They perceive plants as having their own spirit, and that needs to be treated with esteem.