Cherokee Tribe In North Carolina Kick Off Legal Weed Sales As State Lawmakers Turn A Deaf Ear To Medical Marijuana Yet Again

Recreational cannabis sales kicked off at Great Smoky Cannabis Co., an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' dispensary on the Fourth of July. The store hosted the grand opening event on 4/20 and has been selling medical marijuana ever since in the otherwise fully prohibitionist state of North Carolina.

This opening followed the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Tribal Council’s 2021 decision to legalize medical cannabis within the Qualla Boundary. The ECBI is a sovereign self-governed nation and a federally recognized tribe, whose members said yes to recreational cannabis as well on a Sept. 7 referendum in 2023.

Great Smoky Cannabis noted in an Instagram post that tribal members seeking to buy marijuana legally must be 21 or older, with a valid tribal membership card. The dispensary said it will continue to accept medical patient cards for customers regardless of tribal status.

Read Also: Cherokee Tribe Moves Forward With Recreational Cannabis Sales, While North Carolina And Neighboring States Remain Fully Illegal

Keeping in mind that a proposal to legalize medical cannabis in North Carolina failed three times, Great Smoky's budtenders will surely have their hands full this summer.

Members of the state House of Representatives did not call up the medical marijuana proposal for a vote though it previously won approval in the state Senate as reported by Benzinga’s Maureen Meehan.

GOP Rep. Mark Pless, who represents Haywood and Madison counties and is strongly against the legalization efforts, told the Citizen-Times that was due to a lack of support among the majority Republicans in the chamber.

"It is a gateway drug, which causes impairment as its primary function and results in addiction," he said, with no scientific evidence.

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