The Ho-Chunk Nation has voted to decriminalize cannabis across its tribal land.
“The Ho-Chunk Nation recognizes that marijuana and its derivatives are natural growth plants with medicinal and industrial applications,” the tribe said in a statement.
Cannabis is still illegal in states including Wisconsin and at the federal level, so there are questions about if the Ho-Chunk Nation can allow sales on federal trust reservation land.
But with the DEA reclassifying cannabis as a less-dangerous drug, there’s optimism about federal legalization. If that happens, it’s possible the Ho-Chunk Nation could allow sales.
Rob Pero, founder of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that reclassification is driving tribes to be more active in the cannabis supply chain.
“This is a historic day for Ho-Chunk,” he told the publication. “They are building an environment now, before prohibition ends, that will position them to lead the industry…”
