Cherokee chief vetoes marijuana study; council upholds veto

Just over a month after voting unanimously to study the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana on the Qualla Boundary, the Cherokee Tribal Council held a vote whose outcome was nearly a mirror image of the first. Last week, council voted 11-1 to uphold Principal Chief Patrick Lambert’s veto of the study, with Councilmember Travis Smith, of Birdtown, the sole nay vote.

It was Oct. 29 when council originally heard a resolution from a group calling itself Common Sense Cannabis to fund a study that would look into potentially legalizing marijuana — for medicinal, recreational or agricultural use, or for all of the above — on Cherokee lands. The resolution had elicited objections from council members who wondered if the question should be tabled to allow more time for community input and research, or even if it should be decided by referendum vote rather than in council chambers. But in the end, every one of the 12 council members had raised their hands in favor.

http://www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/16822-cherokee-chief-vetoes-marijuana-study-council-upholds-veto