This Saturday, North Carolina will become the 39th state with access to medical marijuana as the Eastern Band of Cherokee opens the first marijuana dispensary in the state. The Great Smoky Cannabis Company will host a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a grand opening at 10 a.m.
A spokesperson for ECBI said preparations for the opening have involved a variety of stakeholders.
“We have taken numerous measures by collaborating with healthcare professionals, policymakers, legal advisors, and community stakeholders to ensure that our dispensary operates in alignment with the highest standards of practice and regulatory compliance within the Qualla Boundary. Most importantly, we are exercising our rights as a sovereign nation as we continue to maintain a model of safety and responsibility,” Public Relations Officer Sheyahshe Littledave said in statement from the Principal Chief’s Office.
Sales are limited to those 21 years old or older who hold a medical cannabis patient card issued by the EBCI Cannabis Control Board.
Neil Denman, executive director of the Cannabis Control Board, said the number of applications has increased as the dispensary opening date approaches.
In March, Denman said about a total of 1,200 cards had been issued. Now, he says, there have been 3,000 applications submitted to the board.
“We kind of expected that people were going to wait till an opening date was actually announced before they started applying,” Denman said.
Of the approved applications, about 1,000 are NC residents and about 300 are enrolled tribal members.
About 450 applications are currently under review, meaning the application has incomplete documentation or – more often – an incorrect photo.
“There’s a little pictogram with instructions on our website. It needs to be a plain head and shoulders shot in front of a plain white background with no hat, no glasses, kind of like a passport or a driver’s license photo but we get all kinds of selfies taken in a car or outside or whatever,” Denman said.
He said he is hopeful that more applications will be approved before the grand opening.
“We’re trying to trying to get through these applications to get as many of them improved as we can, so they’ve got as large a customer base as they can have for opening day Saturday,” he said.
The dispensary will also accept out-of-state medical cards, or other tribal medical cannabis cards.
“It’s important for us to provide accurate information to the surrounding general public about the benefits, risks, messaging, and regulations around medical cannabis use and by maintaining transparency and implementing rigorous safety measures,” Littledave said in a statement.
Dispensary security told BPR that only individuals with medical cards will be allowed on the retail floor which sells flower, edibles and other THC products.
The limit for purchase at the dispensary is one ounce of flower with a monthly limit of six ounces. Purchase of concentrated THC product is limited to 2,500 milligrams of THC per day and 10,000 milligrams per month.
“It’s important for us to provide accurate information to the surrounding general public about the benefits, risks, messaging, and regulations around medical cannabis use and by maintaining transparency and implementing rigorous safety measures,” Littledave said in a statement.
