On Friday, October 24, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FBI agents, state and country authorities, undercover agents and policemen, some wearing military gear, raided and destroyed industrial hemp crops – 30,000 plants total – grown by the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, according to Fox 11 News in Wisconsin.
The tribe legalized growing low THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) industrial hemp on its land in May this year, reported CBS News. The hemp crops were supposed to be protected by the Farm Bill according to the tribe’s press release. But now the feds are saying that the plants were actually a type of high grade marijuana according to the Fox 11 report, which said that the initial test was negative but the second test came back positive. Menominee Tribal Chairman Gary Besaw is now denying the allegations, saying that he and the tribe are “perplexed” by the raid and said they have informed the government every step of the way.
Besaw earlier stated that the crops had great economic potential for Menominee Tribe, which is currently at the bottom of the state of Wisconsin when it comes to poverty and health.
