Tribal medical marijuana cards leading to arrests

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Flandreau Chief of Police Zach Weber said that his records indicate only about 20 arrests have been made or citations given in Flandreau to non-Native medical marijuana card holders for possession of an illegal substance since July of 2021. The number locally, if correct, would be far fewer than the number mentioned this past week in an article in the Argus Leader.
The Argus reported more than 100 arrests were made among those who have medical marijuana cards and who purchased products from the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe’s dispensary since it opened its doors this past summer.
Chief Weber didn’t dispute the local arrests. What he did shed light on is that any additional arrests or the confiscation of materials likely happened elsewhere. He said he’s fielded calls from other jurisdictions about how to handle such stops.
It comes as the state Department of Public Safety and the attorney general’s office stand firm in their stance that the cards aren’t yet valid for people who aren’t tribal members.
Weber said his department is following that directive. But he told the Moody County Enterprise that city officers have no interest in watching who is coming and going from the dispensary. All stops, according to Weber, were for legitimate other reasons somewhere else in town — either for a traffic violation or an equipment violation. If marijuana was found in the car, and the card holder was a non-Native, either an arrest was made or a citation was given per the Department of Public Safety and Attorney General’s offices directives.

“We’re not watching everyone that’s coming in and out of there trying to find a way to stop them,” said Weber. “But through the course of our job, if we find an infraction and stop someone and there’s weed in their car and they have a medical marijuana card and they’re not tribal, then we address it.”
While some arrests were made initially for this specific violation, Weber added that officers are now writing citations.
Medicinal marijuana was approved in November of 2020 by voters in the state and legalization is set to take effect later this year. How that program will operate, however, remains to be finalized by state officials.
FSST meanwhile, which operates the only medical marijuana dispensary currently in the state, is helping those who want to fight the charges against them. The tribe has reportedly issued about 8,000 cards to tribal members and people who aren’t tribal members.
Seth Pearman, the tribe’s attorney general, confirmed for the Moody County Enterprise that his office is currently involved in at least 10 active cases.
“These are the only people that have reached out to us. Some of these individuals are members of FSST and other federally recognized Indian Tribes,” Perman said.
The tribal medical marijuana program operates independently of the state’s medical marijuana program. State health officials started issuing state medical cards last fall, though no state-licensed dispensaries, grow facilities or testing sites are operating.
Asked if he or his department had approached tribal officials on how to better work together on the matter, Weber said that neither side had reached out directly to look at how they might better work together on the evolving legislation and landscape regarding the legalization of medical marijuana.