In an article published yesterday in Law 360, NAFUSA member Troy Eid, shown left, discusses issues surrounding the recent federal criminal raids of marijuana production on the Alturas Indian Rancheria and the Pit River XL Ranch Reservation in Northeastern California which seized at least 12,000 marijuana plants and 100 pounds of processed marijuana.

Eid writes:

A high-profile criminal investigation of two marijuana cultivation facilities on Native American lands in California is a reminder that despite recent U.S. Department of Justice assurances of possible prosecutorial forbearance, tribes considering violating the federal drug laws-even for the sake of much-needed economic development-may do so at their peril.

Click here to read the entire article: Law360 – Federal Narcotics Laws Can Still Trump Tribal Sovereignty.

Troy Eid is the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado and is a shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Denver office and co-chairman of he firm’s American Indian law practice group. He previously chaired the Indian Law and Order Commission and currently serves on the Tribal Issues Advisory Committee of the United States Sentencing Commission.