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Fort Peck Tribes approve use of marijuana for medicinal purposes






The flag of the Fort Peck Tribes. Image from Manataka American Indian Council

The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Montana are joining what appears to be a new wave in Indian Country: legal marijuana.

At its first meeting of 2015, the tribal council voted 7-4 to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, The Fort Peck Journal reported. The tribe set a deadline of June 1 to draft new laws to regulate the drug.

“Let’s take a healthy risk to take care of these issues,” council member Tom Christian said during the meeting, the Journal reported. “We can do this but lets do it legally,”

The move comes on the the heels of a Department of Justice policy that could allow for legal marijuana in Indian Country. One tribe in California has already announced plans to host a grow operation while another in Minnesota is undertaking a feasibility study.

Get the Story:
Tribes legalize prescription pot (The Fort Peck Journal 1/15)
Tribes consider legalizing prescription pot (The Fort Peck Journal 12/25)

Relevant Documents:
Policy Statement Regarding Marijuana Issues in Indian Country (October 2014)

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