Just say no.
That’s the word from Navajo Nation health and education officials regarding the legal cultivation and use of marijuana.
Though a U.S. Department of Justice announcement in December that marijuana could be legalized in Indian country, the tribe’s Health, Education and Human Services Committee confirmed with a recent 3-0 vote to uphold the Navajo Nation’s position against marijuana production, use or sale within its 27,413-square-mile border.
“Years from now, I see the Nation utilizing marijuana in the future, but not until law enforcement and our laws are ready for the use of this drug,” said council delegate Edmund Yazzie.
The bill outlawing marijuana on the reservation is now headed to the Law and Order Committee before being presented to the full Navajo Nation Council.
Spanning across northern Arizona, the Navajo Nation prohibits its citizens from even using prescribed medical marijuana, which was legalized in The Grand Canyon State in 2010. But that could change as Navajo officials expect to introduce an amendment that would allow marijuana use for medical purposes during its ongoing legislative session.
In February, some 75 tribal leaders from across the country convened on the Tulalip Reservation in Washington State at the first “Tribal Cannabis Association” meeting. A Ute Mountain Ute tribal official attended the conference, but tribal leaders in Towaoc have yet to take any official action to reform marijuana laws within its 582,000-acre land mass.
“The issue is very hot right now,” said Ute Mountain Ute attorney Peter Ortego.
