Wisconsin Tribe May Become Latest to Join MJ Industry

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Wisconsin’s Menominee Tribe will have a vote among its roughly 9,000 members this week on whether or not the group will take the plunge and begin growing and selling cannabis.

The members will take a two-part vote on Wednesday and Thursday this week, in a dual referendum on both MMJ and recreational cannabis. If a majority approves either medical or rec, then “tribal legislators would begin the process of writing ordinances to legalize marijuana on the reservation,” according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The reservation, which is located in the northeastern part of the state, would benefit immensely from the economic boost that the cannabis trade could deliver, since Gov. Scott Walker rejected the tribe’s bid to construct a new casino.

But the votes may be a moot point, since there are still no firm legal guidelines for tribes aside from a December memo from the U.S. Department of Justice, and because both MMJ and rec are still illegal in Wisconsin. To drive that point home, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel told the Journal that “we would work to shut (any marijuana grows) down” if the tribe did begin cultivating cannabis.

“We’re not going to sit back and let it happen,” Schimel said.

The Menominee Tribe wouldn’t be the first to consider getting into cannabis in a state where it’s illegal, however: A tribe in South Dakota is already working on plans to begin selling recreational marijuana next to its casino.