Picuris governor talks the future of cannabis sales
Picuris and Pojoaque pueblos entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the state of New Mexico to sell recreational cannabis the week before Friday (April 1), when sales in the state began.
“Cannabis is an exciting new opportunity to diversify our economic development, and revenues from a Pueblo cannabis enterprise will support tribal governmental programs and the surrounding community,” Pojoaque Governor Jenelle Roybal said in a press release.
Picuris Pueblo plans to eventually open a dispensary with drivethru services at the former Picuris Smokes establishment, which is located near the reservation at 1378 State Road 75. Picuris Governor Craig Quanchello anticipates the dispensary will open sometime in June. The pueblo is also in the permitting process to open a drive-thru dispensary in Santa Fe.
“Within the last few years we’ve been working on this, just going back and forth, working out the details. It allows us to exercise our sovereignty when it comes to this [intergovernmental] agreement,” Quanchello said, adding that the agreement took a while to solidify, particularly due to the complexities of planning how to transport and test cannabis.
Cannabis Control Division Spokesperson Heather Brewer defined the intergovernmental agreement as a negotiation between two governments. “It’s a common understanding between two government about what products are going to be, look like and how they’re going to be sold to ensure consumer safety, public safety and worker safety across the board,” Brewer said.
Quanchello said he’s glad that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was willing to work with the Pueblo to help the tribe sell recreational cannabis.
While Picuris must go through a similar application and zoning process as other cannabis entrepreneurs outside of the Pueblo, Picuris faces additional challenges at the federal level. While the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday (April 1) legalizing recreational marijuana, there are doubts as to whether the bill will also pass in the Senate. If it does, that would change the situation dramatically for tribal leaders interested in participating in the new industry.
For example, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officers raided Picuris Pueblo’s medical grow facility in 2017. Then in September 2021, BIA officers also raided a Picuris medical cannabis cardholder’s home. That raid happened after Quanchello said they had changed their ordinances to decriminalize cannabis for medical and recreational users. Brewer said that if a sovereign tribal nation has an intergovernmental agreement with a state regarding the production of cannabis, then these kinds of federal interventions can’t occur. Quanchellos said BIA has been unfairly targeting his pueblo, while leaving other reservation areas alone.
“They’re still threatening to prosecute us. They’re still trying to put us in jail, because we engage in cannabis. So it’s gonna be a tough road,” Quanchello said.
He is excited about the potential revenue from recreational sales
and how it will benefit his community “as a whole,” and referenced the possibility of funds going toward education, a senior support program at Picuris and mental health services.
Quanchello is also concerned about the lack of water available to the pueblo since much of that resource is already being diverted from the Rio Pueblo into Mora Valley. “Mora has taken our river — taking our water and converting it into their river, and then from their river, it goes
into their ditches,” he said.
According to Quanchello, this affects not only the Pueblo but other nearby communities, like Dixon. The water is being taken from the Rio Grande to the Arkansas River, he says. He claims it also affects the water of tribes south of Picuris because water is not flowing into their reservoirs either.
“If you were to come look at the forest area, it’s dying… our traditional herbs, our traditional practices, our traditional ways are
dying as a result of this water being diverted,” Quanchello said.
He hopes the Office of the State Engineer and the U.S. Forest Service can help find a solution to restore water to Picuris. He said his community has tried sharing water with Mora, but those efforts have failed. “We tried sharing. We’ve been doing this for five years now. We’re done sharing,” he said.
Without the water he said they can’t sustain things like marijuana production or farming.
“We’re farmers by nature. We’re gonna treat it as you do everything else: with respect, prayer, and community,” Quanchello said.
Taos Pueblo tribal secretary Dwayne LeftHand Sr. said Taos Pueblo has no intention to sell cannabis anytime in the near future. “We are a Self- Compacted Federally Recognized and our lands are held in trust by the Federal Government which cannabis is still illegal,” said LeftHand in a written statement.