ABSTRACT
Native nations are an integral part of the governmental framework in the United States. The current federal policy era, however, is pushing Native nations and states into increasing areas of interaction. Excise taxation is just one component of a much-larger framework of complex intergovernmental relations. Cigarette taxation is just one component of an increasingly complex web of relations among the federal government, the states, and Native nations. Tribal-state relations over cigarette taxation represent one very specific component of intergovernmental relations but are also reflective of larger issues. This chapter offers a brief overview of the origins of marijuana and hemp and the history of federal and state regulation. The first references to the medicinal properties of cannabis in the form of marijuana date back to 2700 bc in China. The 2013 directive from the Department of Justice clarified the federal government's enforcement priorities with states, but it offered little guidance for Native nations.
