Cherokee adult recreational cannabis sales begin Saturday

Beginning this Saturday, Sept. 7, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to purchase and use marijuana on the Qualla Boundary.  

Recreational marijuana coming next month: Cherokee announces adult-use cannabis date

Beginning, Sept. 7, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to purcha se and use marijuana on the Qualla Boundary.  

While the official announcement was made at 10:22 a.m. in the form of a post on the Great Smoky Cannabis Company’s X page, the news actually broke about an hour earlier during an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council meeting. At the end of that meeting, Council Rep. Richard French, of the Big Cove community made it official. 

EBCI reverses stance on ‘hemp shops’

EBCI Tribal Council has reversed its decision to ban “hemp shops” not “wholly owned by the tribe … or one of its wholly owned subsidiaries.”

EBCI inches toward adult marijuana use

Adults may soon be able to purchase marijuana for recreational use from Cherokee’s new dispensary. 

At a work session last week, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian’s Tribal Council discussed several questions they had regarding a potential ordinance that would legalize sales of cannabis to any adult with a valid ID.

Recreational cannabis remains unlikely in NC

In recent years, more and more states have made the decision to legalize, regulate and tax recreational cannabis products — despite federal prohibition — but North Carolina isn’t one of them, and the General Assembly doesn’t appear to be favorably inclined to support such measures despite the filing of a House effort last year. 

What are the odds of a casino in Asheville? State considers expanding legalized gambling

North Carolina can support as many as nine Las Vegas-style casinos with gambling throughout the state, including one in the Asheville area, according to a report commissioned by the General Assembly. 

Cherokee establishes medical cannabis program

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will establish a medical marijuana program on tribal lands even as the drug remains illegal in the state of North Carolina, following a divided vote on Thursday, Aug. 5. 

Tribe loosens marijuana laws

In a pair of actions taken during Tribal Council on Thursday, May 6, Tribal Council voted to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and to stop testing Housing Improvement Program residents and applicants for the drug. 

Cherokee considers decriminalizing marijuana

Tribal Council voted unanimously April 1 to table an ordinance aiming to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. However, discussion preceding the vote indicates that some version of that ordinance will likely pass in the future. 

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