According to Ridgecrest City Manager Ron Strand, the casino process has “a little ways to go” and the tribe has indicated they have no plans to grow or sell marijuana at the casino once it is built or to export water.

The topic was brought up during the public comment portion of the Ridgecrest City Council meeting Wednesday.

In response to a question about the status of the casino project, Strand replied that the casino property is still in escrow, the tribe is waiting for the land to be taken into trust by the government and if it is taken into trust they will close on the land.
“They have to work out the state compact with the state of California as well as address a tribal environmental impact report with the city and the county, so we still have a little ways to go,” Strand said. “Really it's just hinging on whether the government will take that land into trust.”

Mike Neel also spoke up during public comment, noting that the latest issue of the Timbisha Shoshone tribe newsletter talks about the tribe's cannabis project in Death Valley.

Although the newsletter story does not mention any plans for the tribe to cultivate marijuana in the Ridgecrest location, Neel said he was afraid they would anyway.

“Once the land becomes part of the tribal lands, they can actually pretty much do whatever they want on that land . . . so now it’s very well looking like we could end up with something that it appears council clearly does not want in Ridgecrest, and that is a marijuana farm right there on the top end of town. Easily for them, they can sell it in a little nook in their casino,” Neel said without specifying where he got this information.

“We tried to warn the council of these kinds of possibilities during the whole debate and now it looks like they may be on us and we may end up getting what we think we are going to ban. Because we wanted to have the casino over the objections of a lot of people . . . I hope that maybe something can come up where we might not have to actually have this facility in town,” Neel added.

Mayor Peggy Breeden asked Strand to comment on the issue.

“We are aware of this,” Strand said. “It is going to be addressed at the first tribal city committee in November. I have spoken to a representative of the tribe and it is not their intent to sell or grow marijuana from the casino.”

Strand added that the city currently has an ordinance prohibiting sales and cultivation of medical marijuana and a similar ordinance prohibiting commercial sales and cultivation will be before council shortly.

Strand also said the MSA requires the tribe to agree to any new ordinance and “they said they would agree to this ordinance and prohibition. We'll see how it goes. It will be addressed at the tribal city committee.”

In response to a comment from Neel, Strand also said that the tribe said they would agree not to export water and that has to be addressed between the city and the in the tribal council.

“We are addressing that and council has been apprised. Our concerns are your concerns,” he said to Neel.

Councilman Wallace Martin also spoke up.

“I have a tremendous concern over this from A to Z,” Martin said. He went on to voice a strong opinion on the topic.
“Water rights and land rights are threatened by virtue of the fact that no matter what is said and what is done once sovereign nation takes into full swing and a compact is done, the tribe is free to do as they wish because there's no one to enforce any of these things including the $400,000 payment back to the city. There is no one to enforce it. I have stated from beginning to end. The DA can't enforce it. The sheriff can't enforce it. The chief of police can't enforce it. It has to go to a federal system and any city that challenges anything has to pay up front and there isn't any money to pay up front,” Martin said. “Therefore almost any issue that that deals with this is going to be less with no enforcement including this as well. I have a tremendous fear of this."

Martin added, "So regardless of what's discussed up here, the bottom line on all of this is that if this continues to go through and ends up stamped as a compact anything goes. Including this, growing pot at the front gates of the base. I have a very sincere concern, Mr. Neel and Ron and council. So we'll deal with this in the near future."