First and only medical marijuana dispensary in NC opens applications. Here are details.
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Cherokee Medical Marijuana and Dispensary
The Eastern Band of Cherokee plans to open a dispensary for medical marijuana and members will vote on broader legalization in September.
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Beginning later this year, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina will be selling medical marijuana and related products at a dispensary on tribal land.
The opening comes nearly two years after the Tribal Council’s vote to both legalize controlled use of marijuana on Cherokee land and to grow and sell it. It will mark the first instance of marijuana being sold legally anywhere in North Carolina.
Here’s what to know about eligibility, availability and more.
When will the Cherokee marijuana dispensary open?
The cannabis superstore will open sometime this summer, by early fall at the latest, said Forrest Parker, general manager of Qualla Enterprises LLC, the tribe’s for-profit cannabis business.
The store is located at 91 Bingo Loop Road in Cherokee, N.C., a little over a mile along U.S. 19 from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.
Harvesting began last fall.
Who can buy medical marijuana in North Carolina?
The Cherokee’s Cannabis Control Board will grant medical marijuana cards to applicants it determines eligible. The board — comprised of five individuals with expertise in health care and law enforcement — controls licensing for the cultivation, processing and sale of the marijuana.
The minimum age is 21. Applicants are required to have a signed form from a health care provider or doctor confirming the person has at least one of a dozen chronic or debilitating health conditions. Those are:
▪ Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; or an autoimmune disease; or a condition related to a human immunodeficiency virus
▪ An anxiety disorder; or post-traumatic stress disorder
▪ An autism spectrum disorder
▪ Anorexia nervosa
▪ Cancer; or glaucoma
▪ Dependence on or addiction to opioids
▪ A medical condition or treatment for a medical condition that produces cachexia; muscle spasms, such as those caused by multiple sclerosis; seizures, such as those caused by epilepsy; nausea; or severe or chronic pain
▪ A neuropathic ailment, no matter if the condition causes seizures
How and when can I apply?
Download the application form on the Cannabis Control Board website, EBCI-CCB.org.
The forms are available now and processing will begin Thursday, April 20, said Neil Denman, executive director of the tribe’s Cannabis Control Board.
For the first 60 days after applications are available online, the board will consider only those submitted by enrolled members of the Eastern Band, Denman said.
Other North Carolina residents can still submit applications during those first 60 days, but the board won’t consider approving them until after the 60 days, he said.
How long are the cards good for?
One year.
Do I need a prescription from my doctor?
No. Once your initial card application is approved, you’re good, Denman said. You also don’t need to submit medical records beyond your doctor’s initial signature affirming you have an eligible health condition or problem.
In 2021, EBCI officials said the Cannabis Control Board would allow a sale if a patient provided private health records showing they have a condition that medical marijuana could help alleviate, but that’s no longer true, Denman said.
Can I use another state’s medical marijuana card?
For the foreseeable future, no.
Previously, the EBCI Control Board said it would accept a medical marijuana card a patient obtained from a state or tribe where medical marijuana is legal. But, according to Denman, that could change later.
How much does it cost?
Medical marijuana quality tends to be of a higher and more consistent quality than weed bought informally, not from dispensaries. Exact pricing for Cherokee products is not yet available. But customers will likely notice the marijuana costs more than marijuana bought from friends or dealers selling illegally.
What’s for sale?
Products at the store will primarily be flower, pre-rolls, edibles, concentrates and topicals, according to the tribe’s cannabis website.
Two specific strains already developed are the “Qualla Bear” and “Goose Creep.”
Where does the tribe’s medical cannabis law apply?
Only on tribal land, meaning the 57,000-acre Qualla Boundary in the North Carolina mountains and other tribal trust lands.
The Qualla Boundary is about 46 miles west of Asheville via I-40 and U.S. 19 South., bordering the Great Smoky Mountains.
Can I take medical marijuana home from Cherokee lands?
Unless you want to break the law, no.
That’s because cannabis is still illegal under federal and North Carolina law.
North Carolina is inching closer to legalizing medical marijuana. The Compassionate Care Act, which sits in the state House, would allow those with “debilitating medical conditions,” such as cancer, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, to use medical marijuana.
If the measure becomes law, card-holding Cherokee members and North Carolinians could take the products off the Qualla Boundary and into all parts of the state without risk of arrest on a possession charge.
Right now, a North Carolina resident can be arrested for possession of marijuana even if the drug was legally obtained in another jurisdiction.
Through a spokeswoman, Sheriff Bill Wilke in neighboring Haywood County said his office has no special enforcement plan that would target drivers leaving the Qualla Boundary with marijuana.
“And nothing has changed in terms of how we respond to the sale and distribution of illegal drugs of any kind at the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office,” Wilke said in an email Friday.
Haywood County includes the towns of Waynesville, Canton, Maggie Valley and Clyde.
How much can I buy?
Card holders can buy one ounce of medical marijuana per day, not to exceed six ounces per month, according to Chapter 17 of the tribal municipal code. Chapter 17 lays out the rules for the tribe’s medical marijuana business.
Card holders also can purchase up to 2,500 milligrams of THC in medical cannabis products per day, not to exceed 10,000 milligrams of THC per month, according to the code.
How can the Cherokee legally sell medical marijuana?
The Cherokee maintain a sovereign nation. While the tribe has relationships with the state and federal governments, the tribe makes and enforces its own laws, holds elections and administers government and social services.
Have more questions?
Fill out the message form on the Cannabis Control Board website, EBCI-CCB.org; call 828-229-8650; or email the board at info@ebci-ccb.org.
This story was originally published August 7, 2021 at 9:47 AM.
