The attorney general of Nebraska says people who buy marijuana under a Native American tribe’s planned legal market on its reservation within the state do so “at their own peril,” implying enforcement action against citizens for purchasing what he described as a “poison” if they take it beyond the territory’s borders.
During a press conference focused on an unrelated executive order, Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) were asked about ongoing negotiations with the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska over a tobacco tax compact and the tribe’s move to legalize cannabis within the prohibitionist state.
“I think that my position is crystal clear. I’m totally opposed in recreational marijuana,” the governor said. “If the Omaha tribe progresses to that extent, my view is really simple: There’s not going to be Nebraskans going into the Omaha buying recreational marijuana. We’ll take whatever steps it is to keep our state values and keep that from happening.”
Hilgers, the state attorney general, also spoke about the tribe’s cannabis program alongside the governor, as well as during a separate press briefing on Wednesday.
While compacts between the state and tribal governments can be “good” for both parties, he said what the Omaha tribe has proposed is both a usurpation of tax revenue from tobacco sales and a willful defiance of state laws around marijuana.
Hellbound and Down 