District of North Dakota – Page 11

US v. Crow Feather — Indian Country Marijuana Indictment

October 9, 2008Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The district court here (D. N.D.) declined to dismiss an indictment for marijuana possession. From the opinion:

Crow Feather contends that the Court should dismiss this action because possession of marijuana with intent to distribute is an offense that is expressly prohibited by 18 U.S.C. § 1152 and is not an offense set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 1153.

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Because 18 U.S.C. § 1152 does not restrict prosecution for a violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and because Crow Feather need not commit a crime set forth in 18 U.S.C. §1153 to be prosecuted in federal court, Crow Feather’s motion to dismiss (Docket No. 13) is DENIED.

us-v-crow-feather-dct-opinion

Challenge to Federal Criminalization of Hemp – D. N.D.

December 2, 2007December 2, 2007Matthew L.M. Fletcher

A federal district court in North Dakota granted the government’s motion to dismiss a claim that the United States ban on industrial hemp is unconstitutional. Here is the opinion: Monson v. DEA Opinion

The opinion relied in part on the Eighth Circuit’s decision, United States v. White Plume, involving Indians arguing that the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie protected their right to farm industrial hemp for commercial purposes.