The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians just opened North Carolina’s first legal marijuana dispensary. For tribal areas, this dispensary has been planned for a long time and is the first place where people from North Carolina can legally buy marijuana.
A lot of people were excited to hear about the Great Smokey Cannabis Co. because they have medical cards and have been waiting a long time for a clinic to open in North Carolina. There is yet another push to make marijuana legal with this event to celebrate the store’s opening. This began a few years ago when they made it legal to have small amounts of weed on their land in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
After that, the tribe set up a medical marijuana system that included a business run by the tribe that would grow and sell weed. The dispensary is run by Qualla Enterprises, a tribe business. Forrest Parker is the general manager of the business. “This project will change the course of their lives forever,” Parker said. In a way that has never been seen before, it will lead to generations of social, economic, and spiritual improvement.
Between 14,000 and 20,000 people make up the Eastern Band. As a sovereign country and a federally localized tribe, it can make rules that legalize cannabis. People have spoken out against this because they are worried about how federal and state drug rules will be enforced.
The store only sells things to adults aged 21 and up who have a medical card from the tribe or another state-approved medical card. Now that the state has a medical marijuana store, it may be possible to sell more marijuana.
