A White Earth tribal member whose Mahnomen business was raided last August has been charged with a felony for illegal cannabis possession.
Mahnomen resident Todd J. Thompson, 54, started selling cannabis from his northwestern Minnesota store, Asema Tobacco & Pipe Shop, on the day recreational cannabis became legal in Minnesota. But his store was licensed by the White Earth Reservation tribal council to sell only tobacco products.
According to court documents, agents with the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force and other law enforcement executed a search warrant at the shop and Thompson’s residence just after 4 p.m. Aug. 2. At the store, they found multiple Mason jars with green leafy substances, digital scales and plastic bags.
