US Court Ruled That the Muscogee Creek Tribal Reservation Was Never Disestablished Through Oklahoma Statehood
Video Transcribed: Attention Green Country growers: Cultivation of Oklahoma marijuana is a felony on the Muscogee Creek Reservation. I’m Tulsa Criminal attorney, James Wirth. We’re about to talk about the Muscogee Creek Nation Code and how it deals with cultivation.
All right. So all of this is relevant because of the McGirt that came out in June of 2020 where the United States Supreme Court held that the Muscogee Creek Tribal Reservation was never disestablished through Oklahoma Statehood.
And what that means is that there’s a good chunk of Northeast Oklahoma, including most of Tulsa County, and all of them, many of the surrounding counties, are actually part of the Muscogee Creek Tribal Reservation, and native Americans living in that area are going to be subject to the laws of the Muscogee Creek Nation, in addition to state law and federal law.
So if you are/have a grow operation, and you’re Native American, you’re going to be subject to these laws. So it’s important to know what they say. So here’s what they say.
If you go to Muscogee Creek Nation Code, which I’ve got another video that shows you where to get that, you want to go to Title 14, Section 2-519, and it’s regarding The Cultivation of Illegal Plants. And it’s pretty simple. It says: “The crime of cultivation of illegal plants occurs when a person knowingly cultivates or produces an illegal plant or permits the cultivation of it.”
All right, and then we’ve got a definition. We’ve got to go to a different section. But if you go to Title 14, Section 2-105, Subsection R, it defines what a legal plant means. It says: “Illegal plant means any species of plant from which a controlled, dangerous substance classified in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 may be derived.” And then elsewhere in the code, they describe what’s in each of those schedules. Marijuana is specifically listed as being under Schedule 1.
All right, so then what is the punishment in the Muscogee Creek Nation for that? Any person convicted of violating the foregoing provisions, they’ll be guilty of a felony. So, that is a felony. And then the code elsewhere provides the punishment is up to three years.
And the Muscogee Creek Nation Code, it’s its own sovereign court with its own laws, does not automatically recognize the OMMA and licenses and cards.
We’re very new into this after the McGirt Decision. So there may be joint agreements to get worked out, maybe additional regulations piled on top of each other. But at this point, those things are not in place.
And based on the clear code, cultivation is illegal and a felony. If you’re subject to that law, which if you’re within the reservation territory and you’re native American, then you’re subject to that law. So it’s important to know your rights and responsibilities with regard to that.
If you’ve got any questions about that or your specific scenario, you’re going to want to talk to an attorney. We actually have an attorney that pretty much only practices in Oklahoma cannabis industry law. His name’s Isaiah Brydie for more information for his Oklahoma Cannabis Law Services go to oklahomamedicalmarijuana.attorney.
