Thomas Sherrill
reporter@thefranklinpress.com
Following through on its tribal mandate, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will open its recreational cannabis sales to all adults aged 21 and up on Sept. 7.
The tribal-owned dispensary Great Smoky Cannabis Co. announced fully open sales after formal approval by the Tribal Council on June 6. This comes after a September 2023 referendum approved by 70% of tribal voters mandating the tribe offer recreational marijuana.
The tribe started offering recreational marijuana to card-carrying EBCI members who are age 21 and up on July 4. Previously, medical cannabis sales for people with certified tribal medical marijuana cards were legalized and started on April 20.
The June 6 law passed by the Tribal Council includes several caveats. The tribe prohibits possession in tribal community facilities such as schools, churches, hospitals or public parks. Consumption of marijuana or hemp products while driving a motor vehicle is also unlawful.
Buyers can only buy or pick up their online orders at the Great Smoky Cannabis Co. facility in the town of Cherokee.
Outside of the Qualla Boundary, recreation and medical marijuana remain illegal in North Carolina. The state has partially decriminalized marijuana possession of half an ounce or less, as the mandated punishment is a Class 3 misdemeanor. However, any sentence must be suspended, and the maximum fine is $200. State lawmaker’s efforts in 2023 to legalize medical marijuana in North Carolina failed.
When asked about the dispensary in April, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch of the 43rd Prosecutorial District (the seven westernmost North Carolina counties Macon, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Swain, Jackson and Haywood), said on April 3 they will enforce the state’s medical marijuana ban.
“The mission, duty and privilege of the 43rd Prosecutorial District is to enforce state laws,” Welch stated. “We do not pick certain laws to enforce and ignore others.”
“Tribes have inherent authority as sovereign nations, subject only to federal, not state, law. We respect tribal sovereignty, and we respect the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ right to enact tribal laws,” Welch continued. “In North Carolina, the cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana remains illegal, and we will continue to enforce state law off Qualla Boundary.”
Most of the Qualla Boundary, including the town of Cherokee and the dispensary, is surrounded by Swain County. Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran said in April that the EBCI assured him that the product wouldn’t be transported on state roads and only enrolled members would be driving the trucks.
Cannabis is different than cannabinoid, or CBD, that’s been legal in North Carolina since 2015. Cannabinoids sold in North Carolina have a THC concentration (the medical compound that creates the psychoactive effects of marijuana) of less than 0.3%. Both cannabis and cannabinoids come from the hemp plant. CBD is at least conditionally legal in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
In May, the U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency said they would move to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule III controlled substance.
Reclassification would recognize the drug’s medical uses, but recreational use would still be illegal. That process remains ongoing.
According to the Pew Research Center, 24 states, the District of Columbia and several overseas territories have fully legalized marijuana.
Less than 10 states criminalize all forms of marijuana possession. Pew Research Center stated in April that 57% of Americans believe that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use, while an extra 32% believe it should be legal for medical use, meaning 89% of Americans believe in some form of legalization.