The Great Smoky Cannabis Company made history on April 20 when it opened the first dispensary in a state where cannabis is illegal for both medical and recreational use. North Carolina is one of only 12 states that have so far resisted legalization in either area.

The dispensary, located in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians sovereign state in western North Carolina, sold only medical marijuana at the time of its opening. Then on July 4, the business began selling recreational cannabis products to anyone with a tribal ID.

Next month, the dispensary will take its operations a step further and expand the sale of recreational marijuana to anyone over the age of 21 with a valid ID.

“The decision to enter the recreational market was made by the tribal council, but they didn’t want to jump in headfirst,” Neil Denman, executive director of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Cannabis Control Board, told Carolina Public Press.

The Cannabis Control Board is the regulatory body for the tribe’s cannabis project. It ensures that Qualla Enterprises, the parent company of Great Smoky Cannabis, follows the rules set by the tribe in both production and customer-facing operations.

“Starting with just tribal members was a way to gradually enter the adult recreation market.”

There are 44 Native American tribes where cannabis is legal, and members of all of these tribes have had access to Great Smoky Cannabis’ recreational products this summer.

Although Qualla Enterprises LLC has approached this expansion gradually, the company is still working to increase production of cannabis products in preparation for the September 7 expansion.

“One of the conditions (of the Cannabis Control Board) is that all cannabis sold in the dispensary must be grown on tribal land,” Denman said.

“That’s how it was until recently. They just ordered some product from outside to stock up and make sure they have enough when they open for recreational cultivation. The intention is that all of the product will be grown here at the Qualla border, and eventually that will all be back. But you don’t want to make this big announcement, open up, and then everything is sold out.”

Qualla Enterprises declined to comment on Great Smoky Cannabis Company’s earnings to date or its projections for the period after it fully opens for recreational use.

The Company expects to employ 500 registered tribal members in its cannabis operations, but no positions are being filled at this time.

“Part of the reason (for this expansion of recreational marijuana sales) is purely economic,” Michael Lambert, an anthropology professor at the University of North Carolina and a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, told CPP. “It’s a source of revenue for the tribe that supplements the revenue they get from the casino.”

“The other reason, of course, is to make marijuana available to more than just tribal members. They’re thinking about serving a larger area. The only place the tribe has the authority to do something like that is on tribal land, because by law the state has no jurisdiction over the tribe.”

The North Carolina Senate passed a bill, the NC Compassionate Care Act, that would have legalized medical marijuana in 2023, but the bill failed to pass the House of Representatives.

A February 2024 poll conducted by Meredith College found that 78% of North Carolina residents support the legalization of medical marijuana. However, some influential politicians in the state are vehemently opposed to more lenient cannabis laws.

U.S. Senators Ted Budd (R-Winston-Salem) and Thom Tillis (R-Huntersville) sent a letter to various regulators in the spring of 2023 urging them to more closely monitor the tribe’s cannabis activities.

“Because the legalization of medical marijuana is enormously popular in North Carolina, they can’t really attack it on a moral level, so they’re moving toward regulation,” Lambert said.

Later that year, Republican U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards of Hendersonville introduced the Stop Pot Act, which would authorize the federal government to withhold funds from tribes that allow the sale of recreational marijuana in states where it is illegal. However, the bill failed to pass.

“It’s just not politically viable to attack this,” Lambert said.

Cannabis still illegal outside tribal areas

One problem with the dispensary offering recreational cannabis products to people over 21: Once customers leave the land of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, they are again subject to state laws.

“Possession (of marijuana) is legal as long as (customers) are on the reservation,” Lambert said.

“But if they leave the country and enter North Carolina and are stopped there, they are violating North Carolina law. The question will be whether there will be an effort to enforce those laws.

“(Law enforcement) could set up checkpoints, but I don’t know how it would serve their interests to enforce these laws in a draconian manner.”

Patrick McCoy, deputy sheriff in Jackson County, which borders the Qualla River, sees it similarly.

“We will not see who enters and leaves the pharmacy as it is not within our jurisdiction,” McCoy told CPP.

“So we’re going to do business as usual. If we happen to find someone with marijuana, we’re going to deal with them the same way we deal with anyone else in the county who has marijuana.”