Eastern Band votes to allow for homegrown cannabis, again
Tribal Council voted to approve an amendment allowing some enrolled members to grow their own cannabis at home. Stock photo
Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who live on tribal land and possess a medical marijuana card will now be able to grow their own cannabis.
After months of hammering out the details, the decision was made by Tribal Council during its May 1 meeting. Following the vote, there was some light applause, although for many, the move was overdue, considering the tribe had originally allowed for medical card holders to grow their own plants initially. However, once the tribe passed its adult-use ordinance in June of last year — nine months after enrolled members overwhelmingly voted in favor of adult recreational possession and use — they decided to not include a provision for medical card holders to grow their own, even if they had been up to that point.
The Eastern Band initially showed interest in marijuana legalization in 2015, when Tribal Council unanimously approved a feasibility study that sought to determine whether medicinal or recreational cannabis use, as well as industrial hemp, would benefit the tribe. They began growing hemp, and before long, psychoactive cannabis.
In 2021, the Eastern Band approved the use of medicinal cannabis and started accepting applications for medical marijuana cards in July 2023. Individuals with a host of conditions, from cancer to anxiety to Crohn’s Disease, qualify to obtain a card, which in 2023, meant they could grow their own plants.
One month before the medicinal cards were issued, on Sept. 7, 2023, EBCI voters overwhelmingly approved the legalization of adult-use recreational marijuana. On April 20, 2024, a sort of holiday for pot smokers, the dispensary opened its doors to people with medical cards. On July 4, 2024, sales opened up to everyone over 21 who was an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians or any other federally recognized tribe. In September of last year, the dispensary opened up to sell products to anyone over the age of 21 with a valid ID.
Amending the ordinance
The proposed change in the current ordinance was authored by EBCI member James Bradley, who stood in front of Tribal Council a few months in a row to make his case. During the March 6 meeting, he said enrolled members who qualify should be able to grow their own “medicine” in the “safety and privacy” of their own homes. Some people take pride in growing their medicine, Bradley said, not unlike those who brew their own beer or grown their own food.
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“The goal of this is to be self-sufficient and grow my own medicine,” he said.
During that meeting, multiple enrolled members also voiced their support for Bradley’s ordinance change, including one woman who is a cancer survivor.
James Bradley, an enrolled member of the Eastern band of Cherokee Indians seen here addressing Tribal Council, authored the ordinance amendment that allows for medical card holders to grow their own cannabis. From Facebook
“I tell you, if it wasn’t for being a marijuana user, I probably wouldn’t be here right now,” she said, adding that it helped her with her appetite during a time when she was battling nausea and losing weight.
The amendment stipulates that patients growing cannabis at home must provide proof that the plants are out of plain view and locked in a manner that they’re inaccessible to any minors in the homes.
“A person who cultivates marijuana pursuant to this section must take reasonable precautions to ensure the marijuana plants are secure from unauthorized access or access by a person under 21 years of age. For purposes of illustration and not limitation, cultivating marijuana in an enclosed, locked space that persons under 21 years of age do not possess a key constitutes reasonable precautions,” the ordinance now reads.
“This could be as simple as checking a box and then submitting a photo of the enclosed area you are going to be cultivating your plants in,” Bradley told Tribal Council in March.
Another element addressed in the ordinance change that garnered more discussion was the number of plants allowed. During the March meeting, the ordinance change, as proposed, stipulated that a person could have 12 plants with six flowering at any given time, in addition to 16 ounces of “usable” cannabis. Because cannabis plants are typically on a three to fourth month growing cycle, it’s advisable to rotate plants’ cycles to ensure they flower at different times, thus securing steady production of usable flowers.
During the April 3 Tribal Council meeting, it was revealed that the amendment had been changed to say that a patient could have eight plants with four flowering at a time.
At that April meeting, Bradley reiterated how disappointed he was when the adult use ordinance didn’t include a provision for home-grow.
“This is something we had for three years … and people participated in and then we lost those rights,” he said.
However, some remained steadfast against any forms of cannabis use. Also during that meeting, Regina Ledford Rosario, a retired police officer of 28 years who is known for her child advocacy, discussed her opposition to not only Bradley’s proposal to again allow medicinal card holders to grow their own plants, but the previous vote to legalize adult recreational use.
“I just don’t agree with any of it, because you’re not looking out for our children,” she said.
However, Tribal Council Rep. Perry Shell voiced his overwhelming support, citing how cannabis helped him during his own battle with cancer.
“It’s medicine,” he said.
Similarly, Beloved Woman Myrtle Driver Johnson, who has long been a proponent of legalized cannabis on the Qualla Boundary, echoed Shell’s sentiments.
“I call it medicine from the Earth,” she said.
On May 1, Bradley again appeared before Tribal Council. This time, everyone seemed to agree on the language, and after a brief discussion, the amendment was passed, meaning medical card holders can again grow their own plants.
The vote to approve was 9-3 with Vice Chairman David Wolfe, Rep. Michael Stamper and Brown all voting against the amendment.
Winning some, losing some
While Bradley and others were thrilled that the ability for enrolled members to grow their own plants was again established, his original amendment also included a provision that would allow for people to participate in the industry the tribe has developed — that part of the amendment ultimately didn’t make the final cut.
During the March meeting, Bradley claimed that demand could be outstripping the supply at the dispensary, arguing that the Cooper Creek farm where the cannabis plants are cultivated may not be big enough. It isn’t known publicly whether this is true or not.
Bradley’s amendment would have allowed for enrolled members to gain licensure through the tribe’s cannabis control board, under which they would be subject to the same testing and requirements as plants and products currently sold at the dispensary. Bradley said to deny tribal members the opportunity to benefit economically from the cannabis industry would be not only unfair but disadvantageous all around.
“It seems to me more production is needed so it would make sense that any enrolled members with the means to do so should be able to go to the CCB and apply for those licenses,” he said.
While some Tribal Council representatives seemed open to or even outright supportive of that change to the amendment, some folks, including members of the cannabis control board, seemed hesitant. Principal Chief Michell Hicks said he wasn’t sure that such a step would be in the tribe’s best interest at the time, referencing pushback from federal lawmakers on the initial passage of the ordinance to allow for adult recreational use, especially from Sen. Thom Tillis.
“[Tillis] wrote a very direct letter to every legal agency in the United States around this operation, so there’s a lot of eyes on us making sure that we’re doing things with the testing and keeping things safe … We need to keep these things in mind and protect our community and our sovereignty,” Hicks said.
At the April meeting, Tribal Council Rep. Bucky Brown brought up his opposition to the enrolled members’ participation in the commercial side of the cannabis venture, saying he both didn’t think it could be as well-regulated and that the tribe itself could see less revenue from the dispensary.
“We’ve got too much invested in it,” he said.
Ultimately, the section allowing such economic involvement was killed at that April meeting and wasn’t even discussed last week.
