(a) The Tribe pursuant to the Preamble of the Yurok Constitution exercises inherent sovereignty to “Provide for the health, education, economy, and social wellbeing of [Tribal] members and future members” and to “[r]estore, enhance, and manage the tribal fishery, tribal water rights, tribal forests, and all other natural resources,” including wildlife.

(b) The Yurok Reservation is located within Humboldt and Del Norte Counties in the state of California.

(c) Public Law 280 (28 U.S.C. § 1360) granted California limited civil jurisdiction in Indian country. The Yurok Tribe is not deprived of concurrent civil jurisdiction despite this grant to California of limited civil jurisdiction. Native Village of Venetie I.R.A. Council v. Alaska, 944 F.2d 548, 559-62 (9th Cir. 1991).

(d) The Yurok Tribe and the Tribal Court maintain exclusive jurisdiction over claims arising within the Yurok Reservation against Tribal members. Williams v. Lee, 358 U.S. 217 (1959).

(e) The Yurok Tribe and the Tribal Court presumptively maintain jurisdiction over nonmember activities within the Yurok Reservation. Iowa Mutual Insurance v. LaPlante, 480 U.S. 9 (1987). Tribal civil jurisdiction extends to nonmembers on fee land who enter into a consensual relationship with the Tribe or Tribal members or whose conduct threatens or has some direct effect on the political integrity, the economic security, or the health or welfare of the Tribe. Strate v. A-1 Contractors, 520 U.S. 438 (1997). Civil jurisdiction similarly exists over nonmembers on trust land. Nevada v. Hicks, 533 U.S. 353 (2001). Direct effect can be found in conduct that imperils the subsistence of the Tribal community with catastrophic consequences for the Tribal government. Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., 544 U.S. 316 (2008).

(f) The Yurok Tribe and the Yurok Tribal Court in implementing and enforcing this chapter shall comply with all requirements of the Indian Civil Rights Act, 25 U.S.C. § 1302.

(g) California adopted the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, California Health and Safety Code § 11362.5, known as Proposition 215, implementing certain policies regarding the cultivation and use of marijuana within areas of state jurisdiction. The Compassionate Use Act authorizes a physician to recommend marijuana to a patient for medical purposes. In 2016, California adopted the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), known as Proposition 64, that went into effect on January 1, 2018. The AUMA legalized the recreational use of marijuana for persons 21 years and older.

(h) Certain drugs, including marijuana, are regulated under the federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 811 and 812.

(i) Although the Supreme Court held in Gonzalez v Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005), that Proposition 215 is preempted by federal law, the federal government issued new guidelines in 2009 that the Department of Justice would no longer prioritize prosecuting patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana.

(j) In December 2014, the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment became federal law with the purpose of protecting medical cannabis patients from criminal prosecution. Subsequent federal court decisions have supported medical cannabis users so long as they comply with current state law. U.S. v. Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, 139 F. Supp. 3d 1039 (N.D. Cal. 2015).

(k) The Yurok Tribe recognizes that cannabis is a natural medicine that has potential to help those who suffer from debilitating medical conditions. Numerous studies have proven the medical efficacy and safety of cannabis. In the interests of compassion, the Tribe desires to enable Tribal members to access such medicines safely and legally.

(l) The Yurok Tribe does recognize physician-recommended use of medical marijuana and medical marijuana prescriptions from jurisdictions where medical marijuana is legal. Search and seizure by Tribal police on the Yurok Reservation is governed by the Indian Civil Rights Act and subject to the exclusionary rule, as held by the Supreme Court in U.S. v. Lester, 647 F.2d 869 (1981).

(m) The use, possession, distribution, and manufacture of controlled substances threatens and has a direct effect on the political integrity, the economic security, and the health and welfare of the Tribe, its members, and citizens of the Reservation. Such activities subject Tribal members and citizens of the Reservation to a high probability of theft, violence, and other criminal activity, imperiling the continued existence of the Tribal community.

(n) Rural marijuana cultivation for nonmedical purposes, including the failure to adhere to sanitary living site construction and safe agriculture standards, and the manufacture of controlled substances causes damage to the entire Reservation ecosystem, impacting creeks, wildlife, and water quality due to water diversion, chemicals, and unsanitary conditions and imperiling the subsistence of the Tribal community.

(o) Rural marijuana cultivation for nonmedical purposes and controlled substance manufacture has a profound negative impact to Yurok cultural resources, including polluting sacred lands, dance sites, and waters and limiting access to such resources by Tribal members.

(p) Nothing in this chapter is meant to impact the traditional Yurok use of Indian tobacco, which the Yurok Culture Committee, by motion on September 20, 2013, determined does not include marijuana. [Ord. 82 § 4002, amended, 4/10/2023; Ord. 35 § 4002, adopted, 2/6/2014.]