How a Cherokee tribe used tribal sovereignty to open North Carolina's only legal cannabis dispensary

The tribe has plans to open sales to any adult in the state, even though the drug is still illegal there

Photo collage of the state of North Carolina, with the Qualla Township highlighted with a starburst shape. There are various forms of cannabis arranged on top, and a botanical engraving in the background.
Medical cannabis users across the state are filing into the cannabis superstore
(Image credit: Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images)

In early June, the Cherokee tribal council voted to allow recreational sales at the tribe's new medical marijuana dispensary in the North Carolina mountains, the first and only place people can legally buy cannabis in the state. Up until that vote, customers needed a medical cannabis card from the tribe's Cannabis Control Board. "Starting as soon as August, that will no longer be the case," The Charlotte Observer said. Despite pushback from North Carolina authorities, this latest vote shows the tribe's determination to exercise Indigenous sovereignty.

'A real sovereign flex'

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Theara Coleman, The Week US

Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.