Cannabis patients and advocates in North Carolina on Saturday celebrated the opening of the state’s first medical cannabis dispensary, WLOS reports.
Cannabis remains prohibited in North Carolina except in the Qualla Boundary territory governed by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), where medical cannabis was legalized last year following a successful voter referendum.
The Great Smoky Cannabis Dispensary’s 4/20 grand opening marked “the first legal, regulated, safe cannabis to be sold within the boundaries of North Carolina,” Forrest Parker, the shop’s general manager, said in the report.
“We’re just proud to be the first to enter into this industry, but in this opportunity, it’s pretty much a people’s opportunity. We’re cultivators of people, not just plants, and that’s really important to us. Everything we’re doing is for our people.” — Parker, via WLOS
The Great Smoky Cannabis Dispensary only serves patients who are either registered with the EBCI’s Cannabis Control Board or who are medical cannabis cardholders from another state or tribal cannabis program. The dispensary currently sells products provided by Cooper’s Creek Farm, a local grower and manufacturer.
North Carolina lawmakers last year considered legalizing medical cannabis statewide but the effort was dropped due to steep opposition in the state’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
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