The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that the weed industry is seen by some first nations as an opportunity to take the initiative and get out of poverty, says the regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe reports that cultivating, buying or selling cannabis could provide economic support to those first nations devastated by a downturn in the province's forest industry, Terry Teegee said Wednesday at a summit on cannabis held by the Assembly of First Nations. He said: "A lot of the communities are tired of living in poverty. It's an opportunity for your community to assert your jurisdiction, assert your self-determination. We want to be a part of the community." The two-day First Nations Cannabis Summit is attended by chiefs or their representatives from across Canada to hear about policy, safety, health and social and economic development. There are varying points of view among first nations on how involved they want to be in the cannabis industry, with some "dead set against it," while others look at it as an economic development opportunity, Mr. Teegee said. Mr. Teegee said eight licences out of 122 were given to first nations in Ontario.