The Poarch Creek Indians told Governor Rick Scott that if Florida refused to allow the tribe to expand their casinos, they will have no choice but to start growing and distributing marijuana on the land designated for their gambling expansion.

The tribe stakes its claim to negotiate a far-reaching gambling deal on a one-acre tract of land it owns in Escambia County, few miles from a casino operated by the tribe near the state line in Atmore, Alabama. Tribal officials contend that the land has been in tribal ownership long enough to trigger rights guaranteed by federal law.

If the state rejects the deal, the tribe is within its rights to use the land to grow marijuana, as Department of Justice stated in December that tribes can grow and distribute marijuana on their sovereign land — even if the state in which that land is situated has not legalized marijuana.

“We are entitled to negotiate a compact with the state,” said Poarch Tribal Council Chairwoman Stephanie Bryan. “We have 642 tribal members living throughout the state of Florida. We are asking Gov. Scott to acknowledge we are a federally recognized tribe.”

The tribe started building a warehouse on the land but so far, the actions have garnered a shrug from the Scott administration. Although the governor’s office met twice with tribal officials last year, a spokesman for Scott said recently the governor will not negotiate with the tribe.

Scott’s legal office wrote to Bryan last fall, saying it was “premature” to begin negotiations and that the tribe needs additional recognition from federal officials.

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians operates the Wind Creek Casino in Atmore, just a few miles north of the Nokomis property, and Wind Creek casinos in Montgomery and Wetumpka, AL.