As a Washington resident, Denise Ives was able to vote in favor of Initiative 692, the medical marijuana law adopted in 1998. But because her home is on the Colville Indian Reservation, Ives must drive 15 miles each time she needs to treat her medical condition with a marijuana cigarette.
Ives is caught in a jurisdictional dispute involving tribal, state and federal law.
As a Washington citizen, she could vote for the medical marijuana law. But it doesn't apply to her as long as she lives on the Colville Reservation, where tribal and federal law hold sway. The state law allows, with a physician's approval, a person to have a 60-day supply of marijuana to treat a number of illnesses and disorders. In a plea agreement last week, Colville Tribal Court Judge Steven Aycock sentenced Ives, a Nespelem resident who is not a Colville tribal member, to 20 hours of community service. Ives suffers from a painful constipating condition known as irritable bowel syndrome.