I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5014 
To protect the legal production, purchase, and possession of marijuana by 
Indian tribes, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 20, 2016 
Mr. POCAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To protect the legal production, purchase, and possession 
of marijuana by Indian tribes, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tribal Marijuana Sov-
ereignty Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. LEGAL PRODUCTION, PURCHASE, AND POSSESSION 
OF MARIJUANA BY INDIAN TRIBES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The fact that an Indian tribe, a 
member of an Indian tribe, or a tribal entity is legally au-
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thorized to produce, purchase, or possess marijuana on 
lands held in fee by that Indian tribe, lands held in trust 
by the United States for the benefit of that Indian tribe, 
or lands conveyed to an Alaska Native Corporation pursu-
ant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), shall not be considered when— 
(1) allocating or distributing Federal funds or 
other Federal benefits to the Indian tribe, a member 
of an Indian tribe, or the tribal entity; 
(2) determining the eligibility of the Indian 
tribe or the tribal entity for any contract, grant, or 
other agreement with the United States, or the re-
newal or modification thereof, where the legal pro-
duction, purchase, or possession of marijuana by the 
Indian tribe or a member of an Indian tribe would 
otherwise disqualify the Indian tribe from eligibility; 
(3) evaluating the ongoing compliance of the 
Indian tribe or the tribal entity with any contract, 
grant, or other agreement with the United States 
where the legal production, purchase, or possession 
of marijuana by the Indian tribe or a member of an 
Indian tribe would otherwise result in the Indian 
tribe or tribal entity being out of compliance; and 
(4) determining if the Indian tribe or a member 
of an Indian tribe is eligible for Federal benefits for 
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which the Indian tribe or a member of an Indian 
tribe would otherwise be eligible. 
(b) CLARIFICATION.—This section shall not prohibit 
consideration of income from the legal production, pur-
chase, or possession of marijuana to the same extent that 
the other legal income would be considered when allocating 
or distributing Federal funds or determining eligibility for 
Federal benefits. 
(c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
means those entities described in section 4(e) of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act of 1975 (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)). 
(2) TRIBAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘tribal entity’’ 
means— 
(A) tribal organizations as defined in sec-
tions 4(l) of the Indian Self-Determination and 
Education Assistance Act of 1975 (25 U.S.C. 
450b(l)); 
(B) tribally designated housing entities as 
defined in section 4(22) of the Native American 
Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 
of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103(22)); or 
(C) Indian owned businesses and tribal en-
terprises as defined in sections 3(5) and 3(8) of 
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the Native American Business Development, 
Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 
U.S.C. 4302(5) and (8)). 
(3) LEGALLY AUTHORIZED.—The term ‘‘legally 
authorized’’ means permitted under the laws of— 
(A) the United States; 
(B) the State where the lands held in fee 
by an Indian tribe or held in trust by the 
United States for the benefit on behalf of that 
Indian tribe are located; or 
(C) an Indian tribe. 
SEC. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS OF IHS MEDICAL PROFES-
SIONALS REGARDING MARIJUANA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, IHS medical professionals are authorized to 
make medical recommendations to their patients with re-
gard to marijuana and to complete forms reflecting such 
recommendations. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘IHS medical professional’’ 
means a physician or other health professional fur-
nishing services through an Indian health program 
(as defined in section 108(a)(2) of the Indian Health 
Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1616a(a)(2))). 
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(2) The term ‘‘recommendations’’ does not in-
clude dispensing (as defined in section 102 of the 
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)). 
Æ 
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