Hemp may be next gold
mine for Native American tribes
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[October 25, 2016]
By Natalie Grover
(Reuters) - Casinos on Native American land
have poured billions into tribal economies since the late 1980s, lifting
many people from poverty. Now, some hope, cultivating industrial hemp
could do the same.
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Under U.S. law, hemp - which comes from the same family of plants
that produce marijuana - can be grown only for research, with a
permit from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
However, the Department of Justice opened the door for hemp
cultivation by Native American tribes in 2014 when it agreed that
tribes can set cannabis-related laws just as states can.
Native American-owned CannaNative LLC said on Monday it was in final
talks with the Navajo Nation, the largest federally recognized
tribe, to grow industrial hemp.
Hemp is used in a wide variety of products, from food to
construction materials, but typically contains less than 1 percent
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the psychoactive component of the
cannabis plant. (http://bit.ly/2f84qET)
But while more than half of U.S. states allow cannabis use, federal
law still categorizes all cannabis varieties, including hemp, as a
dangerous drug with no medicinal value.
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Currently there is no large-scale commercial hemp production in the
United States, which depends on imports.
The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) estimates that the total U.S.
retail value of hemp products in 2013 was $581 million, although the
Congressional Research Service says the numbers are under-reported.
The estimate does not include sales by the two major retailers of
hemp-based products, L'Oreal SA's The Body Shop and Whole Foods
Market Inc.
CannaNative has already struck a deal with cannabis products maker
Medical Marijuana Inc to produce the first hemp oil products for
more than 560 Native American tribes.
Now, it is in talks with the Navajo Nation to begin growing hemp on
reservation land in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.
"The industrial hemp project could probably overtake Indian gaming,
not only in terms of employment but also in terms of revenue to the
Navajo," said Al Henderson, a senior Navajo economic adviser, noting
that the 360,000-member tribe had an unemployment rate of 40-50
percent.
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Henderson did not provide data on the tribe's gaming revenue, but
the National Indian Gaming Commission estimates that the overall
tribal casino industry generated nearly $30 billion in gaming
revenue last year.
Growing industrial hemp is an opportunity for the aging Native
American population to go back to its roots with plant-based
medicine and reduce dependence on the American taxpayer, CannaNative
CEO Anthony Rivera told Reuters.
"We can't wait for the federal government ... so we are working with
tribes to pass their own laws in consultation with federal
authorities to demonstrate that we are doing this legally and
responsibly," Rivera said.
For Medical Marijuana Inc (MMI), which sells hemp oil, a deal with
the Navajo Nation could help move hemp cultivation to the United
States from Europe and cut costs by more than 25 percent, Chief
Executive Stu Titus told Reuters.
"Our goal is to plant our initial pilot program test crop in the
spring of 2017 in the Navajo Nation," Titus said.
(Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr)
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