Local News

Colville Tribes Signs Marijuana Compact With State of Washington

Apr 09, 2019

The Chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation today announced that the Tribes and Washington State have entered into a compact for the retail sale of marijuana.

“We are pleased to sign this agreement and look forward to the economic development opportunities it provides,” Colville Business Council Chairman Rodney Cawston said today. “The Compact includes appropriate regulation of tribal businesses which sell marijuana, as well as effective enforcement procedures to assure all applicable laws are followed.”

Cawston said that a new tribal corporation will be created for retail sales of marijuana, as provided by the compact. In tandem with compact negotiations, the Tribes also adopted a new section in its Tribal Code, Chapter 6-20, to regulate sales of marijuana. Taxes generated from the retail marijuana sales will support essential Tribal government services.

“Retail marijuana sales across Washington have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the state,” Cawston said. “We now have the ability to collect our own revenue from Tribal sales, and anticipate that this new funding source will help us continue to expand important government services for our membership.”

The compact was negotiated with the state Liquor and Cannabis Control Board (LCB) over several months by CBC members Jack Ferguson and Joel Boyd, the Tribes’ Office of the Reservation Attorney, and its Administration staff.

Colville’s compact is the 11th marijuana agreement to be signed by Tribes and Governor Jay Inslee. Other compacts are with the Suquamish, Squaxin Island, Muckleshoot, Jamestown S’Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Puyallup, Samish, Stillaguamish, Swinomish, and Tulalip Tribes. Other Tribes are currently in negotiation with the LCB for their own marijuana compacts.