Over 100 Tribes Exploring Marijuana Business Opportunities

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Native American interest in the marijuana industry is accelerating quickly.

Over 100 tribes have contacted FoxBarry Farms, a management firm working to construct the first marijuana cultivation facility on Native American land, to explore business opportunities, according to the Huffington Post.

FoxBarry has already signed one deal with a northern California tribe, and it reportedly is in talks with three more California Native American groups as well as others in seven additional states.

FoxBarry’s business partner, United Cannabis Corp., also has reportedly been contacted by “dozens” of tribes that want to look into the possibility of growing and selling marijuana.

The head of United Cannabis told the Huffington Post that it is “absolutely our plan to team up with tribes all over the country.”

Still, there are legal questions swirling around the issue, which cropped up in December after the Department of Justice issued a memo stating that tribes could legally grow cannabis as long as they followed the same guidelines as states that have marijuana markets.

And then there’s the question of how the tribes’ entrance into the industry could affect longstanding players. Some speculate that with tax exemptions granted to Native Americans, tribal marijuana businesses could undercut extant companies on pricing and drive them out of the market.