CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) — The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians began selling marijuana and cannabis products to any adult 21 or over Saturday at its tribe-owned dispensary in North Carolina, where possession or use of the drug is otherwise illegal.
A post on the Facebook page of Great Smoky Cannabis Co., on the Eastern Band of Cherokee's western tribal lands, called the day “history in the making” with a video showing a line of people waiting outside the shop shortly before sales began at 10 a.m.
The outlet already started July 4 to sell in-store or drive-thru products for recreational use to adults enrolled in the tribe or any other federally recognized tribe. It had opened in April initially for adult medical marijuana purchases.
Hannah Jaffe drove from Asheville, about 60 miles away, for the opening. “We actually got some freebies," she said. "We got a chocolate and a gummy. That was pretty awesome.”
She says it’s important to be able to buy legal recreational marijuana in North Carolina.
“To have access to something like this where it’s legal, you know it’s organic, you know what you’re getting, it’s quality, you know you can trust the source,” Jaffe said.
Marijuana possession or use is otherwise illegal in North Carolina, but the tribe can pass rules related to cannabis as a sovereign nation. Of North Carolina and its surrounding states, only Virginia allows legal recreational use of marijuana statewide.
Jaffe says one reason she uses marijuana is to help when she has trouble sleeping. She says having a safe way to buy it is a game-changer.
“There’s a lot of synthetics on the market. There’s a lot of unsafe products on the black market, too," Jaffee said. "Having this access is going to be the way to go.”
Tribal members voted in a referendum in September backing adult recreational use on their reservation and telling the tribal council to develop legislation to regulate such a market. Those details were hammered out by the council, approving language in June that effectively decriminalized cannabis on Eastern Band land called the Qualla Boundary.
The move was not without its opponents. Shortly before the referendum, Republican U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards introduced legislation that would have removed federal highway funding from tribes and states that have legalized marijuana — a bill that ultimately died.
The Great Smoky Cannabis marijuana sales center, near the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, is predicted to be more of a revenue-generator for the 14,000-member tribe as its customer base expands.