NC resident medical marijuana cards to be issued soon by Eastern Band of Cherokee

Will Hofmann, Asheville Citizen Times
·4 min read

ASHEVILLE - North Carolina residents may receive freshly minted medical marijuana cards — a first for the state — from The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians later this month.

Neil Denman, executive director of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian's Cannabis Control Board, said the plan is to get medical marijuana cards in the hands of patients soon — with the goal of the end of November.

The Cannabis Control Board, which controls the use of cannabis on Tribal land, has been taking applications for ECBI medical cannabis patient cards since April. The organization is currently waiting to be sent the medical applications from a data carrier, Denman said.

"Once that information has been been downloaded, we will be reaching out to those folks — either by email or phone — and have them send us a recent photo," Denman said. "They can either go online and upload it, or we might have them email it to us and we can upload it on our side."

Talks of a budding medical marijuana industry have been consistent since the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians legalized medical marijuana two years ago.

While the sale of recreational marijuana was legalized on Tribal lands in September, the Cannabis Control Board is currently focusing on getting medical practices off the ground, Denman said.

For those waiting, patience is key, Denman said.

"We're working towards it. Obviously, it's not going as fast as we thought it would — with it being a new industry here in the south," Denman said. "There's been some definite obstacles and things pop up that we didn't think about or being new to the industry."

"We're working our way through it and taking steps forward, slowly."

However, when patients will be able to purchase marijuana is still up in the air, Denman said.

"We've not been given a definite date on the dispensary yet," he said. "Last we heard is maybe end of the year or maybe mid-to late-January."

The dispensary is set to be run by Qualla Enterprises LLC, the tribe's for-profit enterprise that will administrate the sale of marijuana.

During an October tribal council meeting, Principal Chief Michell Hicks proposed a $19 million loan that would continue to float the operations of the company "which needs more money immediately or will have to start laying off tribal member employees," Hicks resolution read.

To date, the tribe has provided $31 million to Qualla Enterprises to begin facilitating the growth and sale of marijuana, according to the resolution.

North Carolina residents may receive freshly minted medical marijuana cards — a first for the state — from The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians later this month.
North Carolina residents may receive freshly minted medical marijuana cards — a first for the state — from The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians later this month.

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How do you qualify for a medical cannabis patient card?

In order to qualify for a card, you must be a resident of North Carolina, 21 years old, along with paying $100 for the first issuance and an additional $100 for every year they renew their card. Payment is only available through cash, check or money order.

Tribal cannabis law only applies to Tribal lands. Cannabis remains illegal in North Carolina and federally.

After applying, patients must submit a recent photo with a white background in order to have

In order to medically qualify, a resident must have a medical attestation from a physician that they have one of 18 qualifying conditions. No prescription is needed.

Here are the conditions which qualify patients for a medical cannabis patient card:

Conditions for a medical cannabis patient card

  • Acquired immune deficiency syndromes.

  • Anxiety disorders.

  • Autism spectrum disorder.

  • An autoimmune disease.

  • Anorexia nervosa.

  • Cancer.

  • Dependence upon or addiction to opioids.

  • Glaucoma.

  • A medical condition relate to the human immunodeficiency virus.

  • A neuropathic condition, whether or not such condition causes seizures.

  • Post-traumatic stress disorder.

  • Crohn's disease.

  • Sickle cell anemia.

  • Amyotrophic lateral syndrome.

  • Parkinson's disease.

  • A condition resulting in the patient receiving hospice care.

  • A medical condition or treatment for a medical condition that produces, for a specific patient, one or more of the following: cachexia; muscle spasms, including, without limitation, spasms caused by multiple sclerosis; seizures, including, without limitation seizures caused by epilepsy; nausea; or severe or chronic pain.

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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him atWHofmann@citizentimes.com. 

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Medical marijuana cards coming from Eastern Band of Cherokee