by Robert Wenzel
It seems that virtually everybody has an opinion regarding the legalization of marijuana. This hot topic issue has even led to several debates amongst Native American tribes.
In March, members of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development held an economic summit in Las Vegas. One of the topics that was discussed at the forum was whether Native American tribes should legalize marijuana usage on their reservations. The rationale behind the discussion was to try and stimulate ideas as to how Native American nations can generate different types of revenue.
The topic for potentially allowing marijuana to be permitted on reservations was presented by the United States Justice Department in December of last year. The governmental agency stated that they would be willing to consider legalizing the drug on Native American lands provided that certain procedures are followed.
There are a number of different opinions concerning allowing marijuana. One ideology is to allow the legalization of the drug on Native American lands in states where marijuana use is already allowed, such as in Colorado or Washington State. The theory behind legalizing the drug in these states is that there is already a policy in place that would give the tribes an additional, built in layer of security.
However, there are some potential problems that the Native Americans see with allowing marijuana usage.
One issue is that a number of tribal lands extend beyond the borders of one individual state. The Native American leaders feel that there could be a problem with enforcing rules related to the legalization of marijuana when there may be differing state laws that could supersede the tribal laws.
In addition, even in states such as California that may allow medical marijuana usage, there are potential problems. Some leaders are unsure as to how they can allow marijuana on their reservations without violating city or state laws.
Furthermore, there are some groups that feel that the usage of marijuana could lead to more problems for individuals. Tribal officials think that legalizing the drug could result in more people using marijuana instead of alcohol or other types of drugs, which could potentially result in individuals abusing marijuana in addition to or instead of alcohol or other types of drugs.
Individuals are expressing caution to the Native American Reservations before any decision is reached. Leaders of the conference in Las Vegas urged the tribal leaders to look at all different avenues and opinions before reaching a decision or consensus.
Overall, there are a number of factors that the Native American tribes need to discuss before adopting any policy. The leaders need to evaluate any potential issues that could harm individuals and compare it to what profits (if any) they would earn. At the same time, the representatives would need to determine how any revenue could be reinvested into the community, which would allow the tribal residents to benefit long-term. Some examples of how the money may be reinvested would be through improved schools or better utilities.
At the same time, however, having easier access to legalized drugs may cause Native American people to become addicted to marijuana. This would have potentially catastrophic results for the various tribes.
At the very least, it could benefit the different nations to have further discussion. The leaders of the Native American communities could benefit from having an open dialogue and attempting to create a uniform policy. An alternative method would be to try and determine what the best policy is (if any) and then implement the agreed upon strategy. Lastly, having an independent consultant perform a study and provide feedback could allow the Native American leaders to get an independent, outside opinion of the pros and cons before any action is taken.