More than a week after legal marijuana sales kicked off to all adults at The Great Smoky Cannabis Co., in Cherokee, North Carolina, thousands from across the region have now made purchases at what\u2019s currently the only regulated cannabis retailer within hundreds of square miles.<\/p>\n
Marijuana remains outlawed for all purposes in North Carolina, and none of the state\u2019s neighbors\u2014Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina or Virginia\u2014have legalized recreational sales. That puts Great Smoky, located on the 57,000-acre Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), in a unique and sometimes complicated situation.<\/p>\n
Ahead of last year\u2019s election in which the tribe legalized adult-use cannabis, for example, a U.S. congressman representing North Carolina introduced legislation that would have cut federal funding for tribes where marijuana is legal.<\/p>\n
But since first opening to all adults 21 and older on September 10, the mood at Great Smoky has been celebratory. Tribal members\u2014including Great Smoky\u2019s general manager, Forrest Parker\u2014and the thousands of non-members who\u2019ve showed up in recent days are reveling in the significance of the moment.<\/p>\n
Parker himself described the project as \u201cthe most inspiring thing I\u2019ve ever been a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the first regulated cannabis in the Bible Belt\u2014in this region,\u201d he told Marijuana Moment in an interview last week. \u201cWhen you go talk to some of these people, even if they\u2019ve been waiting way longer than they expected, a lot of folks are showing up to just be part of history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exactly a year ahead of Great Smoky\u2019s recent grand opening, about 70 percent of EBCI members voted to legalize adult-use cannabis<\/a> via a ballot measures after previously greenlighting a medical marijuana program. Medical cannabis sales began on April 20 of this year<\/a>, and in July, the store opened recreational sales to members of EBCI and other federally recognized tribes.<\/p>\n For many in the community, opening marijuana sales to all adults represents not just a milestone but also an assertion of tribal sovereignty.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the first time a tribe, through the execution of sovereignty, has regulated cannabis prior to the state,\u201d Parker said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s been the most inspiring thing for us folks who are Eastern Cherokee.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s also drawn attention and interest from other tribes, which Parker said has been overwhelming. \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to get it done and make it happen here for the community and this tribe,\u201d he said, \u201cand then to see that support and that love has been crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, being the only game in town\u2014and for many surrounding towns\u2014means plenty of pressure and considerable scrutiny. For an entire region of the country, Great Smoky sees itself as an ambassador for legal cannabis and an example of what a regulated market can look like. Many who arrive are visiting a legal shop for the first time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only thing that being first does for us is challenge us even harder to set the bar,\u201d Parker said.<\/p>\n The outpouring of customers\u2014lines stretched for hours on opening day\u2014has also prompted discussions on traffic management, improving road infrastructure and how legal marijuana might be integrated into the Qualla Boundary\u2019s established tourism economy.<\/p>\n For now, Great Smoky and the tribal cannabis company, Qualla Enterprises LLC, aren\u2019t sharing financial or other details from opening week, Parker said. He also declined to comment directly on a local report<\/a> from News 13 last week that the business is planning a consumption lounge.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve explored a lot of different opportunities,\u201d Parker told Marijuana Moment, and a social consumption setting \u201chas been part of that discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe real answer,\u201d he added, \u201cis, \u2018Does it fit what our customers need?’\u201d<\/p>\n Currently there\u2019s no ideal place for visitors to use marijuana. Once removed from the Qualla Boundary itself, the cannabis is illegal, and consumption on the premises at Great Smoky is forbidden. Fines for public consumption begin at $1,000, but some businesses have reportedly said there aren\u2019t enough police to enforce the ban on public use.<\/p>\n For now, News 13 also reports that marijuana is prohibited at the Harrah\u2019s Cherokee Casino Resort and that if local hotels catch customers consuming cannabis on their property, they\u2019ll fine them.<\/p>\n Asked about how interactions have gone with neighboring local law enforcement outside the Qualla Boundary, Parker declined to discuss details but said generally that he feels the tensions between the tribe and surrounding authorities have been overblown.<\/p>\n \u201cI think a lot of the buzz around the potential\u2014for lack of a better term\u2014threat of law enforcement was really more media-based than it was actual,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s just my personal opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n While law enforcement in surrounding North Carolina jurisdictions have \u201cmade it very clear\u201d that \u201ceverybody\u2019s got a job to do,\u201d Parker explained, he also described the relationship as \u201ccollaborative,\u201d noting that \u201cwe have had virtually all law enforcement locally and regionally represented on our properties throughout the last two years.\u201d<\/p>\n He acknowledged the reality of pressure from prohibitionists such as U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC)\u2014who led the introduction of the Stop Pot Act<\/a>, which would \u201cdefund governments that ignore federal law\u201d\u2014but said few who visit or work at Great Smoky Cannabis Company have been discussing the political pushback.<\/p>\n Asked whether he heard any concerns about blowback during opening week, Parker replied, \u201cNo, not at all. Everyone\u2019s talking about being a part of history.\u201d<\/p>\n Marijuana legalization on the Qualla Boundary is expected to eventually bring in millions of dollars in revenue for EBCI. Parker at Qualla Enterprises said last July that \u201cIf adult-use were legalized, revenue could conservatively reach $385 million in the first year and exceed $800 million by year five.\u201d<\/p>\n Parker was happy to discuss excited customers and the store\u2019s close to 350 unique products during the interview with Marijuana Moment last week. But he also emphasized: \u201cWe\u2019re not just doing this for profitability.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe part that I can\u2019t show people, that you can\u2019t express enough to people, is what cannabis is doing to our community\u2014even outside of revenue or the ever-so-special plant medicine,\u201d he said. \u201cIn a rural community such as this, that execution of sovereignty has given a future. It\u2019s given hope. It\u2019s given a place and a sense of purpose to a group of people.\u201d<\/p>\n On the Qualla Boundary, he said, the project has brought together tribal elders and younger leaders, offered opportunities to workers looking to build careers and helped foster a sense of pride in providing for the community. More than 90 percent of employees, he noted, are tribal members.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re doing it for the people that we come from,\u201d Parker said of the new venture, \u201cand the people that matter the most to us.\u201d<\/p>\n Rob Pero, founder of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association (ICIA), recently told Marijuana Moment even outside the region, EBCI\u2019s move to legalize and launch sales have \u201csent shockwaves through Indian country,\u201d underscoring the power and potential of what sovereign tribes can do.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of tribes have already taken action on their own, on their own lands, to either decriminalize or legalize in some cases\u2014and now for the betterment of the state, not just their own interests,\u201d Pero said.<\/p>\n Tribal governments in a handful of U.S. states have entered the marijuana business as more jurisdictions legalize. Notably, in Minnesota, where state lawmakers\u00a0passed an adult-use marijuana program last year<\/a>, tribes are leading the way.<\/p>\n Minnesota\u2019s cannabis law allows\u00a0tribes within the state to open marijuana businesses<\/a>\u00a0before the state itself begins licensing retailers. Some tribal governments\u2014including the\u00a0Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians<\/a>, the\u00a0White Earth Nation<\/a>\u00a0and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe\u2014have already entered the legal market.<\/p>\n It\u2019s believed that in 2020, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, located in South Dakota, became the\u00a0first tribe to vote to legalize marijuana within a U.S. state where the plant remained illegal<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Wisconsin, where Pero is located,\u00a0indigenous leaders have worked together to craft a campaign called Wisconsin Wellness<\/a>, which earlier this week held an event at the state Capitol in favor of legalizing medical marijuana.<\/p>\n Pero said EBCI\u2019s willingness to navigate the process has been inspiring to other tribes attempting to assert their own sovereignty, regardless of members\u2019 views on cannabis legalization itself.<\/p>\n \u201cTribes have decided, at least in some cases, we want to own the narratives,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to tell our stories regardless of fear of repercussions and judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n DEA Acknowledges New Two-Step Test For Marijuana\u2019s Accepted Medical Use Is Legitimate<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post The Only Legal Marijuana Store In North Carolina Is Thriving\u2014And Represents A Win For Tribal Sovereignty, Leaders Say<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
More than a week after legal marijuana sales kicked off to all adults at The Great Smoky Cannabis Co., in Cherokee, North Carolina, thousands from across the region have now made purchases at what\u2019s currently the only regulated cannabis retailer within hundreds of square miles. Marijuana remains outlawed for allContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77839"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77839"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77840,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77839\/revisions\/77840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: The Only Legal Marijuana Store In North Carolina Is Thriving\u2014And Represents A Win For Tribal Sovereignty, Leaders Say<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"