Manataba Messenger

Page 10 C O L O R A D O R I V E R I N D I A N T R I B E S Q - Who will be in control of the testing? A - At this time, we have not identified an entity that will be responsible for the test- ing. It will be an outside entity separate from the tribe. There is a testing section in the Hemp code called 1.303 for your review, which sets out the standards for testing. One of the requirements is that it will be a Department of Agriculture regis- tered laboratory. Q - Up until this point, what has the tribe passed in regards to hemp? A - Up until right now, the only thing the tribe has done related to hemp is we had to amend our criminal law and order code and our definition of cannabis. Because our law and order code had a definition that would have still included hemp because it just said “cannabis,” and we had to adjust it to allow for the growth of hemp. So that is the only tribal law that we have put into place related to hemp. Q - Will tribal members wishing to grow hemp in their homes be accountable to the same rules and regulations non- tribal members are held to? A - Any growth of hemp in any home on the reservation will fall under this Hemp Code. Q - If you are going into the nursery growing of hemp and you sell it to a farmer on the reser- vation, will that require two licenses or just one? A - Essentially, any person engaging in activities related to hemp within the tribes’ jurisdiction, included but not limited to growing, processing, handling, transport- ing, or storing hemp, can only do so pur- suant to a valid license. So yes, if you were to sell to a farmer who is going to store or transport hemp, then that farmer would also have to have a license under this code. Q - What kind of hemp products are we talking about? I am only familiar with recreational marijuana. A - This is just the product of hemp. It can be used for fiber, clothing; the seeds are used for oils, etc. Q - Does one license cover just one plot, or if there are multiple plots, does each parcel have to have an individual license? A - Generally, the person doing the grow- ing would have to have the license. They can have more than one location. Each one of those would be subject to requirements of GPS location provided; each site would be subject to inspection and testing, but as far as it’s one entity with multiple parcels of land, the license would still be to that one person. Q - What is the length of the license? A - The license is good for three years, and then you get an option to renew. *Attorney General noted: Be advised there will be a fee for the license to grow hemp, there will also be a fee for the application to grow hemp. It does cost money to have a regulatory body, but that fee (cost) has yet to be established in the code. Q - Will the tribe be growing hemp? A - The tribe has considered growing hemp. Q - Do you have any idea when this regulatory agency will be established or when a director will be appointed to it? A - I know the tribe itself would like to make sure it happens before the next grow- ing season. That’s the goal. To have it in place before then, but it will take a little bit of time to get individuals tasked with this to get the documents, that piece of it pre- pared, applications, the background process, the workout so that it will take some months. Q - Are we the only tribe that is doing this right now? A - No, we are not. We were approved in the 2nd round of approvals by the USDA. We were approved pretty early, though. Q - Do you know who the 1st round of approval tribes was, and where they are now in their hemp programs? A - The first Hemp plans were approved at the end of December 2019. The first- round approvals were the states Louisiana, New Jersey, and Ohio. The tribes approved in the first round were the Flandreau Santee Sioux, the Santa Rosa Cahuilla, and the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indian Tribes. Second round approvals were the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Fort Belknap Indian Community, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and the Yurok. Q - Were there any other tribes approved before CRIT in Arizona? A -No other tribes in Arizona. CRIT is the first one. Q - Is that just under the growing? That you’re talking about the code. A - Right. The ASDA has to approve any state or tribe wanting to grow hemp. There have been two rounds of approvals so far, and CRIT was in the second round. Q - Were not talking about dispensaries? A - No, this is only related to hemp. Just hemp. Marijuana is still under federal law, and it is still illegal, there have been no approvals from the federal government to grow marijuana. Q - What about a background check? A - Yes. There is a requirement of a back- ground check and fingerprinting for any- body that is issued a license. There will be certain things, like business plans and operations. As far as the actual criminal background check, all key participants of the applicant will be required to have one. All key participants to be covered by the license must not have been convicted of a felony under state or federal law relating to a controlled substance within the past ten years. The background check must be dated within 60 days before the application submission date. Q - Who is responsible for fingerprinting and background checks? The tribe? A -Yes, that portion of the licensing process would be covered by law enforce- ment under the code. Q - When did this idea to get into hemp first start? Was it someone on the tribal council that first brought it up? Who gave you your first directive to look into it? A - Councilman Johnny Hill answered: Three years ago, at a Saturday meeting, a young man, tribal member, first brought it up, at that time it was illegal. Q - Other than the natural confusion between marijuana and hemp, and learning all of that, what were some of the other concerns that tribal council had when they started considering this? Can you tell us how many they kind of had to work through? A - Well, certainly, some of the considera- tions when you are going into this crop will again be ensuring that it actually meets the standard of hemp. And it doesn’t go beyond that. Any time you are dealing with a crop that looks like marijuana, there are, of course, security issues and making sure that people do not mistake a crop for something that it’s not, and any criminality that may come with that. Of course, the concern is that you have reputable people behind the operation that are going to comply with the code. The tribe was cog- nizant of other tribes attempting to go into hemp prior to the 2018 authorization, which did not go well for other tribes. So, for the tribe, the real impetus to move for- ward was the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, and when that information went out, the council wanted to track this issue immedi- ately. Still, we knew the way the Farm Bill was written; no authorizations were going to go out until they actually put out the rules. And so that was the delay, the rules did not come out until October 2019. Rebecca Loudbear noted: Under the sam- pling and the testing section of the code. The method used for sampling from the flower material of the cannabis plant shall be sufficient at a confidence level of 95 per- cent that no more than 1 percent of the plants and the grow site will exceed the acceptable hemp THC level. If that is exceeded, that crop will be destroyed per the code. Q - Will there be another hearing after this? Will there be another opportunity to meet on this? A - No, this will be the only hearing on this code. Partly because there isn’t a lot of room to change much in this code, we can change some CRIT specific language and processes, but a lot of what is in this code is geared off of stringent regulatory requirements from the USDA, and there is no changing that. So, it will go back to council now. They will review the com- ments and move to approve the code or not approve the code. Q - Have you established a timeline of when testing would take place in the crop cycle? I am asking because if everyone is tested at the same time, it will create a backlog (and consequently a delay). A -Yes, it has to happen within 15 days of the anticipated harvest. That is when sam- pling and testing would occur. It can be tested at other points. But that is the mandatory test time is 15 days before har- vest. Re: Testing Backlog that will have to be something that we will review with the agency that will actually be doing the test- ing. Rebecca Loudbear noted: Under the sam- pling and the testing section of the code. The method used for sampling from the flower material of the cannabis plant shall be sufficient at a confidence level of 95 per- cent that no more than 1 percent of the plants and the grow site will exceed the acceptable hemp THC level. If that is exceeded, that crop will be destroyed per the code. Q - Will there be a tribal board or committee that will oversee any part of this? A - Not at this point. It will be an agency under the tribal council. So, the council will appoint the director, and that person will report to the tribal council. Q - Is it possible to do small plot try-outs of growing hemp before the hemp code comes out? A - No. Not at this point because under federal law, we are required to have this code and comply with this code. So, if someone was to grow and we became aware of it, we would then have to deem that a violation and have the crop destroyed. Issue likely citations, and it would potentially prevent that person from getting a license in the future. Rebecca Loudbear noted: Be aware there is a Violation section in the code. Q - When is this scheduled to go to tribal coun- cil? A - I hope that after this public hearing, I would likely take this to my next meeting with them, which would be March 12. Q - Has anyone tried to grow hemp here on the reservation illegally? A - Yes, they have. Q - How does hemp become marijuana? A - What determines whether a plant is marijuana or hemp is contingent upon the level of THC in the plant. Q - If CRIT Farms starts to grow hemp will the profits be distributed to the tribal members? A - Distributions are based on a budget annually. They (the tribe) do not just look at CRIT Farms; they look at all their enter- prises based on what they can contribute-- excluding the casino. Q - Will the tribe be taxing hemp? A - That would be something the tribe has the authority to do; we have not drafted that type of provision or ordinance at this point. But the tribe would be within its authority to determine whether or not this would be a crop that would be subject to some sort of tax. The tribe does have a sales tax code in place already. But as far as specifically taxing hemp. We do not have anything that’s been put out for any kind of public comment or hearing at this point. Q - Would the process to grow hemp be differ- ent from the processes already in place to pro- duce any other crop, for example, alfalfa? Does the tribe keep track of what precisely is growing where on the reservation? A - The tribe already has a system in place with CRIT Realty and CRIT Water Resources that monitors and understands what is being grown on their lands at all times. Different crops use different amounts of water, so it is carefully moni- tored what is being produced. Due to this Hemp code, absolutely--the tribe will know using GPS coordinates and tracking where Hemp parcels are due to the licens- ing requirements.