The Navajo Nation, which covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, is considering legalizing cannabis for medicinal use.

Navajo Nation Council Delegate Lee Jack, Sr. sponsored the legislation aimed at making medical cannabis legal on the reservation, stating there is a humanitarian need for it.

The nation’s former Vice Presidential candidate, Dineh Benally, has also been pushing legalization. He told the council’s Health, Education and Human Services Committee how his mother’s final months battling pancreatic cancer could have been eased by medical cannabis.

If passed, the legislation would allow businesses to cultivate cannabis or hemp for economic, industrial or scientific purposes. Council Delegate Jack said his bill could spur economic development on the reservation. Benally is hoping the tribe will enter into business with Ultra Health, a New Mexico company that projects the state will have 60,000 patients by the end of the year.

“What we are doing is educating people that this is not just a joint you can smoke, it’s real medicine,” Ultra Health Vice President Leonard Salgado said.

Ultra Health has seven dispensary locations across New Mexico and plans on opening several more in the future.

The medical cannabis legalization bill passed the Health, Education and Human Services Committee by a 3-2 margin and will move on next to the Resource and Development Committee.

Currently the tribe has a “zero tolerance” policy toward cannabis. Those possessing cannabis could face up to one year in jail or a $5,000 fine. Arizona and New Mexico have medical cannabis legalization in place, while cannabis for any purpose is still illegal in Utah.