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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom