Menominee Nation To Vote On Legalizing Pot

Their casino proposal for Kenosha was rejected, now Wisconsin's Menominee tribe has a new plan to fight its way out of poverty. Leaders want  to legalize marijuana on their reservation.  In fact, a vote on a referendum calling for the legalization is set for later this week  The referendum is advisory, but if the Menominee ultimately approves legal pot, the plan is to sell it to raise revenue for one of the poorest tribes in the country.

A University of Wisconsin marijuana law expert tells CBS 58 the Menominee are in a unique position to do that.

\"The state has criminal jurisdiction over ten of the tribes,\" says Richard Monette, \"but not over Menominee, so Menominee can do this and the other tribes arguably can't.\"

Monette also says the state can slow the process down by going to court.

The Menominee tribe says it's interested in marijuana to, \"explore all opportunities to diversify the tribe's economy, create jobs and provide revenue....to fund health, education, social, law enforcement, AODA and other important services.\"