By Joe Morey
News Editor
LCO Secretary-Treasurer Bill Trepanier hosted an information session on the current status of LCO’s cannabis program at the Sevenwinds Casino on Wednesday, Nov. 13, whereby nearly 70 tribal members attended in person or via Zoom to hear a status update and answer questions.
This was the first info session of many planned events hosted by Trepanier and the Tribe’s cannabis consultant, Thi Le. The meetings are for the purpose of engaging LCO membership and providing a safe, open and informative discussion on the Tribe’s marijuana program development.
Thi Le said the session which lasted about two hours, went very well.
“It was helpful to see the range of questions and which direction people are hoping LCO’s marijuana program development goes,” Le stated. “It was expected for the first meeting to have a wide scope of discussion about the legalities and liberties of a regulated marijuana program. There was also considerable interest from members to be more involved in the process. In addition, this and future sessions will allow us to start collecting quantitative and qualitative data.”
Le said that in the future, they aim to hold these meetings on a quarterly basis which will help to keep tribal members informed on the program developments. She also aims to hold a monthly session which to educate members on cannabis topics.
“This will provide an opportunity for members to gain a better understanding of various cannabis topics such as: cannabis science, history, interactions with humans, medical uses, potential risks and dangers, research, products, industry, etc.”
Le said there are also plans to establish social media platforms where members can stay engaged and informed. Other benefits of using social media include outreach, building a consumer base, engagement, etc.
During the session, most of the topics discussed ranged from:
Basic cannabis questions: “difference between hemp and cannabis”, “legalization status”, etc.
Hemp industry questions and comments: “why aren’t we doing anything in hemp?”
Legal status and consequences in LCO: “decriminalization”, “possession”, “will county law enforcement charge or prosecute for possession?”, etc.
Permitted member activities: “will members be able to grow their own?”, “will members be able to operate businesses?”, etc.
Member engagement: “can members be involved in the process?”
Thi Le pointed out to the tribal members in attendance that the cannabis program will create a lot of great jobs and skilled jobs that tribal members may be able to take anywhere.
“The Eastern Band has been invaluable with their support and guidance, which has been instrumental in helping our program move along so quickly. We appreciate them greatly," Trepanier said.
He went on to say our Tribe is in the first phase, which is writing the cannabis code for our Tribe, but it’s nearly completed and should be ready for review within a couple months. He attributed this to a lot of outside help from other Tribes, such as the EBCI.
Thi Le said the code is the law that will establish regulatory authority, including the boundaries, the limits and who has authority. Some examples include making sure we are not selling to minors, that nothing criminal is occurring and that no one is driving while under the influence.
According to Le there are 38 states that have some form of legalized marijuana while 24 of them have full adult recreational use. She noted that Tribes are now moving into developing their own codes.
“The Eastern Band of Cherokee has the most comprehensive code, and they do it so well the state can’t come in and do anything about it,” Le noted. She explained that marijuana isn’t legal in North Carolina where the EBCI Tribe operates and that they went ahead and started their program regardless.
“Right now, we have the backbone of our code, and we started out with it being very comprehensive because our state doesn’t have legalized marijuana either, but we can trim down from there,” Le said.
During the discussion Thi Le was asked about whether our northern climate has the right environment for marijuana growing. She answered that despite the shorter growing season it can be done with greenhouse cultivation and/or growing outside but capturing the heat or having hoop houses.
Trepanier said there have been discussions among tribal leadership on prospective grow facility locations. We have a few ideas, he noted.
“We want to make sure it’s on our original reservation lands,” Trepanier said. “We are trying to keep it away from residential areas but where there is already infrastructure in place.”
He added that the grow facility and a dispensary would be in two separate locations.
Trepanier and Le were also asked about a consumption lounge located within the Reservation boundaries.
Le said the Tribe can do this over what any state licensing can do, but we have to make sure it’s well regulated and safe.
Trepanier said LCO will work closely with the state to show them we are well-prepared and that we have experts working on this.
“We want them to feel comfortable,” Trepanier said.
He also said that they are unsure how Sheriff Mrotek will respond to the cannabis plans, but that they are going to attempt to work with him.
“We will talk with each level of authorities beginning with our local level, then state and federal,” Trepanier said.
Thi Le said it’s not clear when and if the state of Wisconsin will legalize marijuana and even after legalization occurs, it will take a couple of years to get from legalization to licensing of any operations in the state, and that LCO doesn’t intend to wait. She said LCO will be ready long before that.
Le also added at the info session that in areas of legalized cannabis, data is showing crime is actually coming down. She said this will help our community use funds fighting crime to be reallocated for other community services that benefit LCO.
LCO Tribal Governing Board member Michelle Beaudin also added that marijuana has shown to help with opioid addictions and treatment, which will help in our community.
Beaudin applauded Trepanier for all his work on the cannabis program development and said that he and Thi Le have been amazing.
“Thi Le has so much knowledge and we are fortunate to have her in our program,” Beaudin said.
Trepanier stated the LCO program wouldn’t be as far along as it is without the support of the Tribal Governing Board. He said there is unanimous support from the Board to continue moving along on the current path.
