NC’s first marijuana dispensary set to open in Cherokee. Mark your calendar for ... 420

Joe Marusak
·2 min read
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The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in western North Carolina has set an opening date for the only dispensary in the state to legally buy marijuana.

In a historic vote on Sept. 7, 2023, tribal members overwhelmingly 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.

Elder Cherokee women work together to trim leaves from dried cannabis stems for the flowers, so the remaining buds can be collected and used as product.
Elder Cherokee women work together to trim leaves from dried cannabis stems for the flowers, so the remaining buds can be collected and used as product.

The tribe plans to open the dispensary on April 20, Lee Griffin, human resources director for the tribe’s cannabis subsidiary, Qualla Enterprises LLC, told the tribal council during a council work session on Wednesday.

April 20 is recognized by marijuana users and producers as the national cannabis holiday.

“Across the country, it’s the biggest revenue date for cannabis,” Griffin said, according to a Charlotte Observer review of the tribe’s recording of the meeting. “It’s like New Year’s Eve at the casino.”

A hoop house is teeming with flowering cannabis plants on a farm owned and operated by Qualla Enterprises, LLC in Cherokee, NC. Cannabis plants reach the flowering stage after eight to eleven weeks. Once the plant is fully mature, it is harvested and stored in a climate controlled room to dry.
A hoop house is teeming with flowering cannabis plants on a farm owned and operated by Qualla Enterprises, LLC in Cherokee, NC. Cannabis plants reach the flowering stage after eight to eleven weeks. Once the plant is fully mature, it is harvested and stored in a climate controlled room to dry.

And North Carolina residents and others who want to buy products at the dispensary won’t need a cannabis card from the tribe’s Cannabis Control Board, Griffin said.

That’s because the tribe intends to open the dispensary for adult use, no longer limiting sales to buyers with medical conditions that marijuana can help treat, he said.

Why does everyone associate ’420’ with marijuana on April 20? Here’s what we learned.

Where is the Cherokee dispensary?

The dispensary is in the tribe’s massive, refurbished old bingo hall on U.S. 19 near Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, 46 miles west of Asheville in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Tribal officials held an open house at the dispensary on the night before EBCI members voted to legalize adult-use cannabis.

Products on display at the Great Smoky Cannabis Company on Wednesday, September 6, 2023 during an open house.
Products on display at the Great Smoky Cannabis Company on Wednesday, September 6, 2023 during an open house.

The tribal council called Wednesday’s work session to update language in its proposed adult-use cannabis ordinance. Several more work sessions are expected, council Chairman Mike Parker said at the work session. Still, the tribe could open its dispensary on the date Griffin announced, April 20, tribal officials said.

About 1,400 people have applied for Cherokee cannabis-related jobs, Griffin said. The tribe would have needed to fill only 78 positions to open the dispensary only to people with qualifying medical conditions, he said. Now it will need to fill over 350 positions, he said.

Still, he said, the adult-use dispensary could open with the 69 cannabis-related employees the tribe currently has on hand.