Cherokee council vows to crack down on drug dealers

Drug addiction is perhaps the biggest crisis on the Qualla Boundary, and it’s time that tribal government got serious about punishing traffickers, members of Cherokee Tribal Council agreed last week.

The discussion began with a resolution from Councilmember Teresa McCoy, of Big Cove, asking that council direct the Attorney General’s office to draft a law banishing anyone convicted of selling illegal drugs from tribal lands. As a sovereign nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has the right to forbid any individual from entering its land, though enforcing such banishments can be problematic.

http://www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/16823-cherokee-council-vows-to-crack-down-on-drug-dealers