As Mendocino County grapples with a surge in violence and unregulated cannabis cultivation, the Board of Supervisors is asking state agencies for help.
On May 6, supervisors unanimously agreed to formally request state support to combat illegal cannabis activity. But while the board and law enforcement are sounding alarms, residents most affected by the violence — particularly those on the Round Valley Indian Reservation — remain conflicted about a crackdown.
Last week, a shooting on the reservation left one person dead and two others injured. Deputies responding to a 911 hang-up traced the call to Mina Road, where they discovered a body and two gunshot victims nearby.
But enforcement on tribal lands presents legal and political complications. The Round Valley Reservation is densely packed with cannabis greenhouses, forming a distinctive pattern visible from satellite imagery. Yet, according to tribal attorney Lester Marston, these grows operate under tribal law.
“The Covelo Indian Community enacted its own cannabis laws,” Marston said. “They strictly prohibit the cultivation, sale, possession, or distribution of cannabis for any purpose other than medical. Under tribal law, a grower must undergo a background check, receive a license, and present a valid medical prescription. Authorization is limited to a specific number of plants depending on the condition being treated.”
Marston represents the Round Valley Indian Tribes and three residents who are suing Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall over raids that occurred on tribal land in July 2024. He contends Kendall acted outside his authority.
“He enforced illegal search warrants, confiscated and destroyed personal property belonging to individual tribal members,” Marston said. “He didn’t have the authority to do that.”
Kendall has not commented on the specific raids but said his office responds to calls for service, including those from tribal members.
“I grew up in Round Valley. I get a lot of calls from tribal members about these illegal cultivations,” Kendall said. “I don’t get to ignore those.”
Following the July raids, the tribe sent a cease-and-desist letter to the sheriff, prompting a temporary halt in enforcement activity. Marston claims Kendall withheld services as a result. Kendall denies that.
“I explained to my deputies that until we can get clarity about whether we have the authority to remove illegal grows, we’re holding off on enforcement,” Kendall said. “But we’re still responding to calls for service left and right in Round Valley.”
Marston is now asking a federal court to resolve whether Public Law 280 — a law often cited by Kendall — grants the sheriff authority to enforce state cannabis laws on tribal lands.
“We’re asking the court to determine that Public Law 280 does not give him that power,” Marston said. “The Supreme Court ruled in California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians that states can’t enforce gaming laws on tribal land. And in a case I argued — Chemehuevi Indian Tribe v. McMahon — the Ninth Circuit ruled that the state can’t enforce vehicle codes against tribal members on reservations. The same principle should apply here.”
Meanwhile, others are frustrated by what they see as the county’s failure to protect compliant growers. Jim Shields, editor and publisher of the Mendocino County Observer, voiced strong support for the county’s request for state help at the Board of Supervisors meeting where the appeal for state help was discussed.
“This county has foolishly refused to enforce its own ordinance, allowing criminal cartels to thumb their noses at the law,” Shields told the board. “The legitimate family farmers — the mom-and-pops — are getting crushed by red tape and low prices from cartel-grown marijuana flooding the market.”
Meanwhile, Steve Amato, president of the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance, echoed some of the caveats about enforcement expressed by the Round Valley Indian Tribes.
“There are great concerns in our community about how enforcement has been used in the past,” Amato said. “If funds come in from the state, they must be used properly — to go after the worst actors, not small legal growers. We don’t have much room left for error.”
For now, residents, tribal members, and small growers alike are watching and waiting — hoping help materializes, and that the legal cannabis industry can finally flourish without violence or fear, or crushing competition from criminal cartels.
