RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – A marijuana dispensary will open in western North Carolina on April 20, just days before the North Carolina General Assembly reconvenes, with a bill to legalize medical marijuana statewide still pending.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Cannabis Control Board says it has received applications from more than 1,000 people for medical cards in order to purchase marijuana at the Great Smoky Cannabis Company. It remains illegal to use it off tribal land.
“This is a momentous occasion. And, it means so much not just for myself but for other patients in North Carolina,” said Chris Suttle, an advocate for marijuana legalization who spoke to CBS 17 as he traveled to obtain a medical card.
Even though the EBCI held a referendum last year showing there was majority support for allowing recreational marijuana sales, for now it will be restricted to medical cannabis.
Republican U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd recently wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland raising a variety of concerns about the situation. Among them, they asked about the legality of Qualla Enterprise LLC transporting marijuana potentially on state roads from where it’s grown to where it will be sold,
