Menominee Tribe to hold marijuana referendum

KESHENA — Marijuana is illegal in the state of Wisconsin, but it could end up being legal on the Menominee Indian Reservation.

The tribe has scheduled a referendum for next month to see how its members feel about legalizing the drug.

It is an advisory referendum, so even if there is support for legalizing marijuana, the tribal board would still need to pass some sort of legislation.

On August 19th and 20, a two question referendum will ask tribal members whether the tribe should allow recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and older. It will also ask whether the tribe should allow the medicinal use of marijuana.

“This is just a start,” said Gary Besaw, the Menominee Tribal Chairman. “We’ll see if the tribal membership wants us to move forward and wants us to commit more energy toward this.”

In 2013, the Department of Justice issued the Cole Memorandum, which told prosecutors to let tribes grow or sell pot on reservations if they followed eight guidelines. Unlike the state’s other tribes, the Menominee Tribe answers to federal prosecutors, allowing it to take advantage of the federal memo.

Even if the referendum shows there is wide-ranging support for legalizing marijuana, it could still be a while before that happens. Tribal leaders say they still have a lot of research they want to do.

“We have a lot of concern about the social and legal implications that might come with this and we also know what the research is showing on some of the medical implications,” said Besaw.

If the tribe does move forward with legalization, preliminary guidelines call for pot only to be allowed on tribal land. It would only be legal to tribal members with a permit. A license would be required to grow marijuana. There would also be restrictions on where people can smoke in public.

“I am for it, totally for it,” said Kayla Chevalier of Neopit.

“I don’t care if it gets passed or not. I don’t smoke or anything, but I know it helps with medical purposes, so there could be tribal members that need it,” said Jon Tucker of Shawano.

While a majority of tribal members FOX 11 spoke with said they were in favor of legalizing marijuana, FOX 11 did talk with a few against it.

A state Department of Justice spokesperson said she had nothing to share when asked for comment on the tribe’s referendum.

To read the tribe’s FAQ about this vote, click here.