Minnesota Tribal Land Ruling Undercuts Marijuana Law’s Claims Of Undoing Racial Disparities

A Minnesota judge’s order earlier this month upheld the state’s authority to prosecute cannabis-related crimes on tribal lands, raising questions about Indigenous sovereignty and the efficacy of “social equity” provisions in state-level cannabis laws.

Todd Thompson – a member of the White Earth Band of the Chippewa Tribe, began selling cannabis from his licensed tobacco shop on the White Earth reservation on 1 August 2023 – the same day Minnesota passed a law permitting adult-use recreational cannabis. Thompson says the first day went well, but on the second day, the store and his home were both raided by Mahnomen county sheriff’s deputies and White Earth tribal police, who seized all of Thompson’s cannabis as well as $2,748 in cash.

“When they raided my home, they took my sacred items, my sage bowl, tipped it upside down on my bed, white bed sheets. And they took my feather and put it on the floor,” said Thompson.

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