Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will open limited NC recreational marijuana sales July 4

The Great Smoky Cannabis Co. will soon begin limited recreational marijuana sales to members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and federally recognized tribes, marking a major step toward becoming the first and only recreational marijuana dispensary in North Carolina.

On social media June 30, the company announced on social media that it would begin recreational sales for tribal members July 4, followed by another post stating that full adult use sales are "coming soon." Until then, only those over the age of 21 with a tribal ID are able to purchase recreational marijuana.

The start of recreational sales comes after the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council passed an official resolution in June to allow the sale of recreational marijuana on Cherokee territory.

Before passing the resolution, the dispensary—which is run by the Cherokee-backed Qualla Enterprises—had opened April 20 for medical marijuana sales.

In a May 30 work session, just days before passing the resolution, Qualla Enterprises General Manager Forrest Parker said they would likely be opening recreational sales to tribal members within "30-45 days" after passage of the bill and estimated recreational sales to the general public in "60-75 days." The timeline sets the opening of North Carolina's first recreational cannabis market for August.

The timeline difference comes from hiring the staff required to run the estimated "80,000 pound" market that could be generated from the single dispensary, Parker said at the time. Qualla Enterprises Human Resources Director Lee Griffin had stated during a Feb. 28 recreational adult use work session that around 350 employees would be necessary to run a recreational marijuana market. The company had a job fair on June 25.

The dispensary is still open for medical marijuana sales, the Great Smoky Cannabis Co. website states. Until the business opens to the general public for recreational sales, a medical marijuana card or EBCI I.D. is required to enter the dispensary.

The marijuana market has been touted as a huge economic boon for the EBCI, even as the drug remains illegal in North Carolina.

North Carolina state legislators have not legalized the drug for medical or recreational purposes, despite some proposals to do so. President Joe Biden in May moved to reclassify the marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug, meaning it could become federally legal to prescribe marijuana as medication.

The EBCI land—known as the Qualla Boundary—is a sovereign nation that has its own elections, laws, government and institutions that are self-governed and autonomous. It lies primarily in the Western North Carolina mountain counties of Swain and Jackson, with smaller parts in Cherokee, Graham and Haywood.

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Amendments to legislation cut out during June protest hearing

Part of the Tribal Council recreational marijuana amendment that would have given the dispensary a monopoly on hemp products in North Carolina was appealed and removed during a June 27 Tribal Council Protest Hearing.

The tribal council heard a protest letter from Robert Mark Saunooke, a businessman who said the amendment would likely force the closure of his hemp businesses on EBCI land.

"If my stores are closed I will have great adverse financial consequences," Saunooke wrote in his letter urging Tribal Council to reconsider the amendment, submitting another optional amendment for the council to consider.

After a short conversation, the Tribal Council unanimously voted to repeal the amendment.

Another amendment, regarding the regulation of homegrown marijuana plants, was also repealed during the hearing, with EBCI Attorney General Michael McConnel encouraging the Tribal Council to not allow individual tribal members to grow marijuana plants and to "take up the issue of home grow" in the future.

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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 at WHofmann@citizentimes.com.Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Limited recreational marijuana sales begin in NC July 4; What to know