NC Cherokee may soon sell marijuana to any adults who want it, tribal official says
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in western North Carolina could soon expand sales at its new medical cannabis superstore to all adults, a tribal council member said at a recent council work session.
Great Smoky Cannabis Company opened Saturday as the only dispensary in the state where such marijuana sales are legal. Sales are limited to those with a medical cannabis card issued by the tribe’s Cannabis Control Board or a similar board out of state.
The dispensary is in the tribe’s massive former bingo hall at U.S. 19 and Bingo Loop Road, near Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, 46 miles west of Asheville in the Great Smoky Mountains.
“Happy 4.20 & Welcome to our Grand Opening!” reads the message on the dispensary website.
The store opened with at least 34,000 “fully tested, certified products,” said Forrest Parker, general manager of Qualla Enterprises, the Cherokee cannabis subsidiary.
Products include flower, vape items, edibles and topicals, officials said.
At the dispensary Saturday morning, Myrtle Driver Johnson, Beloved Woman of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, made the first legal purchase of cannabis in North Carolina, the Cherokee One Feather tribal newspaper reported.
“It is a great day for the Cherokee people today,” Johnson said.
Recreational sales targeted for June, official says
Also Saturday, State Rep. Zach Hawkins, D-Durham, said he’s filing legislation “to further support the (marijuana) decriminalizing and legalization movement.” Marijuana remains illegal in North Carolina and federally.
April 20 is recognized by marijuana users and producers as the national cannabis holiday.
In a historic vote on Sept. 7, tribal members by 70% approved adult use of marijuana on tribal land. The tribe on the 57,000-acre Qualla Boundary had already approved the use and controlled sale of medical cannabis.
Adult or recreational use remains illegal on the Qualla Boundary until the tribal council finishes crafting and then approves an adult use ordinance.
That could happen in June, council member Boyd Owle said at the end of a council work session Monday called to continue work on the ordinance.
Owle urged patience to people wondering why it’s taking so long since the September vote to legalize adult use.
“It’s going to take some time,” he said. “Let’s get it right before we put it out there. But we’re on the right track. I’d like to see it on the agenda come June and approve recreational.”
Owle is serving his third-straight term as tribal council representative for the Birdtown and 3200 Acre Tract communities.
No council member objected to Owle’s timetable before the meeting adjourned. Neither did any officials with Qualla Enterprises LLC in the audience. More work sessions will be held to complete the ordinance, Owle said.
“Just be patient so we can work on this and get it going and make sure it’s correct,” Owle said, adding that his message was to the general public that overwhelming approved adult-use sales.
“How proud that I am”
Parker called the dispensary opening the culmination of “a big week.”
“Thank you to y’all,” he told the tribal council Monday. “It’s a monumental, historic week for our tribe, and I appreciate your working so hard. The people at Qualla, we appreciate it.”
“I just want to tell the community how proud that I am of this crew of people,” Parker said. “And I want them to know we’re working every day to make sure we do this in the most efficient way, and in a way that you guys and the community can be proud of what we’re doing.”
Potential revenues
The dispensary could generate nearly $206 million in gross sales revenues in its first year if limited to medical patients, compared with $385 million if product is available to all adult users, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
The figures were released by Qualla Enterprises before last year’s adult-use referendum. Cannabis industry consultant HedgeRow Analysis developed the estimates for Qualla Enterprises.
In its fifth year, the dispensary could generate a respective $578 million and $843 million in gross sales revenues, according to the HedgeRow Analysis estimates.
News & Observer Staff Writer Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan contributed.
