The first marijuana dispensary in the state opened on Saturday on the Qualla Boundary.
Great Smoky Cannabis Company opened its doors to more than 100 medical marijuana card holders standing in line through drizzling rain waiting for the doors to open at 10am.
Myrtle Driver Johnson, a Beloved Woman, an honorary distinction among the Eastern Band of Cherokee, made the first purchase.
“It makes me feel good that now we can add cannabis to our Native American medicines,” Johnson said. She is a fluent speaker and a translator for Tribal Council.
Johnson spoke in Cherokee to sales associate and tribal member Eric Bird as he showed Johnson all of the products recommending flowers like blackberry kush and vapes.
“My personal would probably be our fire pre-roll packs,” Bird said. “They come in packs of five. All you have to do is take a lighter to it and spark it up.”
The dispensary also makes its own edibles from cookies and chocolate to candy.
“If you’re done then we’ll take you over to the edibles. Are you a gummy girl or a bakery girl?” Bird asked.
“I have dentures,” Johnson answered.
“Well, we will lean more toward the gummies then how about that?” Bird asked.
Johnson has been an outspoken advocate for the medicinal properties of marijuana. She told BPR that it felt good to be the first sale.
“I believe in the medicinal uses of cannabis. Especially after I did all the research, I gave all of the strains Cherokee names,” Johnson said.
To make sure that the name was appropriate to the strain, Johnson researched all of the medical uses for marijuana. She said she was surprised at how many uses there were since she has predominately used marijuana for pain after colon cancer surgery.
“In my many years of experience with marijuana I’ve seen what it has done,” Johnson said.
The day was filled with acknowledgement of the tribe’s traditional connection to medicinal plants, history and looking toward the future.
During an opening ceremony, Qualla Enterprises Forrest Parker said he is looking forward to what this means for the future of the young people on the Boundary. He said he has found his life’s purpose since starting on the farm in July 2022.
“This project has changed the trajectory of their lives forever. It will be a conduit to social, economic, medicinal and spiritual growth unlike anything in this region. For me, that’s a driving force for this company and, as long as I’m involved, I guarantee it will continue to put people first,” Parker said.
He said called on the crowd to recognize what the Eastern Band has already accomplished.
“Qualla Enterprises is setting up the largest cannabis farm in the history of the United States right here on sovereign land. No one has done it on this scale much less on a vertical of seed to sale markets.”
At 11am, more than 200 people had been served by the dispensary, and 400 orders had been placed for pick up. Dispensary official said 2,000 people had been approved for medical marijuana cards for the grand opening.
Brad Baker drove from Charlotte to use the Ohio medical card he obtained when he previously lived in Cincinnati.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for 40-some years,” Baker said.
“We just can’t let governments tell us what we can do with what God gave to us. That’s my stance on it. Genesis 1:29: God says I have given you the seed-bearing herbs for your use. And who is the state or the government to deny what God has given us?”
Esquire Kelly drove from Raleigh to experience the day. Kelly said he and his fiancé spent the previous night at the casino and then planned to head back to the Triangle.
“Finally, North Carolina is doing it like every other state should so I’m here,” Kelly said.
He said he didn’t have a problem applying for the medical card.
“I have a couple of things going on with me, so it was just a matter of going to the doctor and having them fill out a form,” Kelly said. He said it took about five days to be approved.
Pless Conard from nearby Waynesville, said he was sick and losing weight but hasn’t been able to get on disability.
“I’ve been hacked up, and I’m out here trying to get better. Cannabis has really given me my life back, so I’m hoping to see if fully recreational for everybody. The medicine of the new world is breeding disease, so it’s important to be here and support the community,” Conard said.
He said he believes it is only a matter of time until marijuana is legalized in the state.
“You know you had prohibition until they could tax that then all of a sudden alcohol is okay,” Conard said. “I’m sure Uncle Sam will get their cut, and it will be legal everywhere else soon enough.”
Tori Moore is one of the senior canna chef’s on site. Moore said three cooks have been doing all the research and development for the products for about six months.
“It’s been a lot of fun playing with chocolate and gummies and cookies and practicing infusing things for the first time,” she said. “So right now we’re doing snickerdoodles, so that’s a cinnamon and sugar cookie that you smell. And you can probably smell some of the cannabis in the background. It smells just a little bit like weed and a lot like sugar.”
Moore says the menu will expand when recreational marijuana moves forward on the Boundary.
Tribal Council is still working on the policy that would allow recreational marijuana. The tribe voted 2:1 in support of an adult use referendum in September 2023.
While cannabis is legal on the Qualla Boundary, it is still illegal just over the Boundary lines in the counties directly surrounding tribal land. Law enforcement officers patrolled the area but there were no reports of roadblocks in Swain, Jackson and Haywood counties on Saturday.
