While other states have moved to legalize the drug, cannabis has remained illegal in North Carolina. Yet, the sale of medical marijuana might soon begin in a part of the state that is also a sovereign nation — the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Qualla Boundary.
The EBCI is planning to officially launch the Great Smoky Cannabis Co. dispensary, managed by Qualla Enterprises, on April 20. It will be the first marijuana dispensary to open in North Carolina after the EBCI approved the sale of medical marijuana in 2021.
But this isn’t a free-for-all, open-to-the public dispensary. Before you take the trip out to the Qualla Boundary in the Great Smoky Mountains — not to be confused with Great Smoky Mountains National Park — here’s what you need to know.
Who will be able to purchase cannabis?
On March 25, The Great Smoky Cannabis Co. announced that the dispensary would only be open for the sale of medical marijuana on April 20.
Only those with an EBCI medical cannabis patient card or an out-of-state approved medical marijuana card will be eligible to purchase at the dispensary when it opens, according to a March 25 press release from the dispensary.
