Pubdate: Tue, 23 Dec 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122

TRIBES CAUTIOUSLY ENTER MARIJUANA DISCUSSIONS

Flagstaff, Ariz. (AP) - The Navajo Nation had bitter debates when it 
was deciding whether to allow casinos on the reservation and if 
alcohol should be sold in them. The arguments focused on the revenue 
and jobs that casinos and liquor could bring to a reservation where 
half the workforce is unemployed and most arrests and social ills are 
linked to alcohol abuse.

When the federal government announced this month that it would allow 
American Indian tribes to grow and sell marijuana, the same divisive 
discussions resurfaced. The tribal president's office talked of 
expanding crops to include pot for medicinal but not recreational 
use, while a tribal lawmaker quickly declared opposition.

Marijuana isn't tied to tribal culture, like tobacco commonly used in 
religious ceremonies, and any pot-growing operation would run counter 
to the message that tribes have preached for decades that drugs and 
alcohol ruin lives, said Carl Artman, former U.S. Bureau of Indian 
Affairs assistant secretary and member of the Oneida Tribe in Wisconsin.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom