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Navajo Nation Sues Over Hemp Growing Operation

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SHIPROCK, N.M. (AP) — The Navajo Nation Department of Justice is suing a tribal member over what authorities say is an illegal hemp farming operation in northwestern New Mexico.

Attorney General Doreen McPaul said the lawsuit was filed Thursday in tribal court. The complaint names Dineh Benally, Native American Agriculture Co. and Navajo Gold Co. Benally and his businesses are accused of running an industrial hemp operation within the reservation's boundaries and unlawfully issuing tribal land use permits to foreign entities to grow and cultivate hemp on the Navajo Nation. An attorney for Benally said he hasn’t seen a copy of the complaint and declined to comment.