NC's 1st dispensary to begin recreational marijuana sales; What to know, laws, hours
After years of discussion, multiple referendums and the establishment of a massive, vertically integrated cannabis industry, this week the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will open its marijuana dispensary for recreational sales on the Qualla Boundary, making it the first to open in North Carolina despite the drug being illegal in the state.
The Great Smoky Cannabis Co. will open for adult-use purchases at 10 a.m. on Sept. 7 at 91 Bingo Loop Road in Cherokee, North Carolina. The dispensary will only be accepting customers age 21 and older with a photo ID.
The opening of adult-use sales comes after the Eastern Band held a series of referendums on the issue, eventually approving the sale of recreational marijuana in September 2023. The effort has come with the launch of an expansive independent cannabis farm and regulatory system. Members of the Eastern Band grow, process and sell the product all within the Qualla Boundary, the Eastern Band’s sovereign territory in the far-western counties of Western North Carolina, bordering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The U.S. cannabis industry has blossomed in recent years, with 24 states fully legalizing recreational sales and even more legalizing limited medical sales. In a 2023 study, Brightfield Group, a top cannabis research firm, estimated the nation's cannabis industry could grow to over $50 billion in sales by 2028.
While the drug remains illegal in the state, the Eastern Band has seen getting ahead in the marijuana industry as a major economic opportunity. In a 2023 study by HedgeRow Analysis, the firm estimated that the approval of just medical marijuana in the state could bring around $180 million in annual revenue within its first year. By its fifth year, the North Carolina medical market could expand to $650 million and is estimated to bring $65 million in annual tax revenues.
The Eastern Band had continued to make history with the launch of its cannabis industry. Opening in April as the first in North Carolina to perform medical marijuana sales, the dispensary has already opened recreational sales for tribal members on July 4.
The launch of North Carolina's first cannabis industry has not come without its critics.
Shortly before passing the referendum on recreational marijuana sales, WNC's Congressman Chuck Edwards introduced legislation that would have removed federal highway funding from tribes and states that have legalized marijuana.
At the same time, the state's two Republican senators, Ted Budd and Thom Tillis, put out a March letter saying they have a "responsibility to ensure our youth are shielded from untested marijuana products being produced and sold by Qualla Enterprise LLC," the primary company working to grow, process, test and sell the Eastern Band's cannabis.
While the senators suggested Eastern Band products are "untested," cannabis sold by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is subject to an independent tribe-based regulatory program, known as the Cannabis Control Board, and all products are independently tested by Kaycha Labs, a national testing corporation that has set-up its only North Carolina lab on the Qualla Boundary.
However, cannabis is still illegal in North Carolina and in Tennessee. The chief criminal prosecutor in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch, made a statement in April that she would continue to "enforce state law" in the run-up to the dispensary's opening for medical marijuana on April 20.
On Aug. 30, prosecutorial District 43 spokesperson Quintin Ellison told the Citizen Times the statement stands "as is."
What to know about the first adult-use marijuana dispensary in NC
Before you decide to make a visit to the Great Smoky Cannabis Co., here are some things you should know:
?At 10 a.m. on Sept. 7, the dispensary will open to anyone over the age of 21. The dispensary will require a government-issued photo ID in order to enter.
The dispensary is at 91 Bingo Loop Road in Cherokee. The dispensary is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. from Wednesday to Sunday.
Customers do not need to be members of EBCI or residents of NC.
Medical program is still active where NC residents and medical patients will receive a discount. Out-of-state medical card reciprocity applies.
Store is cash-only. ATMs are available in the store.
Drive-thru passengers must be 21 or older.
Cannabis cannot be consumed on dispensary property.
More: As recreational marijuana comes to NC, a Cherokee 'seed to sale' operation springs to life
More: Eastern Band of Cherokee announce opening date for recreational marijuana; 1st in NC
More: Marijuana legal in Western NC for 2 weeks but US House member still trying to stop it
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected]. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: North Carolina's 1st recreational marijuana dispensary set to open
