The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) is set to open the first adult-use cannabis dispensary in North Carolina next month on April 20, the Charlotte Observer reports.
The store will be operated by the tribe’s subsidiary, Qualla Enterprises LLC, and will be located inside a renovated bingo hall. Officials chose April 20 for the store’s launch date because it marks “the biggest revenue date for cannabis,” Lee Griffin, company’s the human resources director, said during a meeting with tribal officials last week.
Griffin also said Qualla Enterprises is ready for a hiring spree that would support the adult-use operation and see a significant jump for the company from its current 69 employees to more than 350, the report said.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians first legalized medical cannabis in 2021 and then last year, citizens living in the the Qualla Boundary — the 57,000-acre region controlled by the tribe — voted resoundingly to legalize cannabis outright.
Not only will the location be the first cannabis dispensary in the state, but it will also be the only adult-use cannabis option in North Carolina until cannabis reforms are enacted statewide. State law still strictly prohibits the use and possession of cannabis, even for medical purposes. Legislation to legalize therapeutic cannabis access was rejected last year by the House of Representatives for the second year in a row, just weeks before the tribe adopted its adult-use legalization policy.
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