With 70% in favor, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians voted to legalize recreational marijuana on tribal lands, creating a “pot haven” in Western North Carolina while the drug remains illegal outside of tribal boundaries.
The cannabis referendum unofficially passed 2,464 to 1,057 on Sept. 7. Another referendum allowing mixed beverage permits to qualified establishments also unofficially passed 2,389 to 1,113.
“Do you support legalizing the possession and use of cannabis for persons who are at least twenty-one (21) years old, and require the EBCI Tribal Council to develop legislation to regulate the market?” the tribal referendum question asked.
The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources Joey Owle told Blue Ridge Public Radio he anticipates starting recreational sales in nine to 18 months. Owle also said medicinal use cards for medical marijuana, approved by the tribe in 2021, will be issued soon.
The Qualla Boundary, the home to the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, is roughly 82.6 miles, mainly along the Swain and Jackson border, and includes the town of Cherokee, where tribal governance is headquartered. The Qualla Boundary also includes pieces of land in Graham and Cherokee counties to the west and southwest. The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian’s elections board office confirmed the referendums would apply to the entire Qualla Boundary.
While full marijuana legalization is happening for the tribe, it remains illegal for recreational and medicinal use in North Carolina, creating a legal dichotomy.
Rich Cassady, a Franklin criminal justice attorney, said there are a lot of interesting questions.
“What does the U.S. Attorney’s office think,” Cassady said, adding that the district court wouldn’t care too much about misdemeanor marijuana charges. “Does this mean sheriffs will set up roadblocks to try to catch people who transport it [off Cherokee land]?”
As far as prosecution of those who bring recreational marijuana off the Qualla Boundary, Cassady feels this could lead to cases where a driver is pulled over for any number of driving infractions and gets charged for weed that happens to be in the car.
“I think you’ll see this more of a roadblock perspective...[law enforcement] is not going to care where they got it. ‘I bought it legally’ is not a defense in state court,” Cassady said.
Cassady says enforcement depends on how much the local sheriffs want to go after it, and how aggressively the District Attorney’s Office of Ashley Hornsby Welch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of North Carolina wants to prosecute the cases.
A hypothetical issue for licensed Qualla Boundary growers could be for those who aren’t in the town of Cherokee, but in the isolated boundary communities in Graham and Cherokee counties who then transport their product to a dispensary but have to drive through non-Cherokee land to get there, where transporting cannabis for sale could bring felony trafficking charges.
Before the Sept. 7 vote, freshman U.S. Rep Chuck Edwards wrote a column for several newspapers, including The Franklin Press and the Cherokee One Feather, decrying potential marijuana legalization. Edwards, a Hendersonville Republican who represents WNC, including all the Qualla Boundary, said that while he’s a friend of the Cherokee, he threatened to take away federal funding from all “pot havens” through a federal bill he’s since introduced. As of this year, 22 states have legalized marijuana for recreational use.
“Here in our beloved mountains, we are already facing unprecedented crime, drug addiction and mental illness. I can’t stand by and condone even greater access to drugs to poison more folks in WNC, not to mention having even more impaired drivers on our roads,” Edwards wrote.
In response to Edwards’ letter, Qualla Enterprises, the tribe’s medical cannabis company, published its own letter encouraging people to vote “yes.” The company said full legalization can bring more revenue to the Cherokee, a majority of North Carolinians support legalization and it can reduce opioid dependencies and decrease crime.
The Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly considered medical marijuana this year. The N.C. Senate passed the act, Senate Bill 3, on March 1, with most Republicans and all Democrats in favor. Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Franklin Republican, voted “aye.” However, Senate Bill 3 died without a hearing in an N.C. House committee, with House leaders saying there was too much opposition.
According to the Meredith Poll, which polls North Carolinians on hot-button issues, 73% are in favor of medical marijuana, with support across political parties.
North Carolina has partially decriminalized marijuana possession of half an ounce or less. The state-mandated punishment is a Class 3 misdemeanor, but any sentence must be suspended, and the maximum fine is $200.
In recent years, North Carolina has allowed the sale of CBD oil, or cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive part of the hemp plant. CBD oils with less than 0.3% THC, the primary ingredient that causes the altered mental state associated with marijuana usage, are legal. The same is true in Georgia, but CBD is still illegal in South Carolina, according to The Council of State Governments.