To the Editor:

After the proliferation of so-called THCa weed  —  weed harvested according to Trump’s farm bill to have less than 0.3% delta 9 THC at time of harvest, which experienced smokers will know is weed harvested early and therefore not fit to smoke —  finding herb in Western North Carolina has been more than a challenge. 

It’s been almost a decade in the making, but anyone over 21 with a valid ID can purchase THC products in Western North Carolina. 

Sales began last Saturday morning, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m. at the old bingo hall on the western end of the Qualla Boundary. The dispensary is owned by the Great Smoky Cannabis Co., operated by Qualla Enterprises, LLC, an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians-owned company that also operates a 22.5-acre cannabis farm.

Beginning this Saturday, Sept. 7, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to purchase and use marijuana on the Qualla Boundary.  

Beginning, Sept. 7, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to purcha se and use marijuana on the Qualla Boundary.  

While the official announcement was made at 10:22 a.m. in the form of a post on the Great Smoky Cannabis Company’s X page, the news actually broke about an hour earlier during an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council meeting. At the end of that meeting, Council Rep. Richard French, of the Big Cove community made it official. 

Cherokee is moving one step closer to full adult recreational cannabis use.

The newest advance will come July 4 when the Great Smoky Cannabis Company will be allowed to legally sell marijuana to adults over the age of 21 who are enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians or any other federally recognized tribe. 

About nine months after members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted overwhelmingly to legalize the sale of marijuana and other cannabis products for adults over the age of 21, Tribal Council made it official during its June 6 meeting.

The path to cannabis legalization on the Qualla Boundary has been riddled with roadblocks, some of which the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians painstakingly navigated around, some of which it has bulldozed. 

In recent years, more and more states have made the decision to legalize, regulate and tax recreational cannabis products — despite federal prohibition — but North Carolina isn’t one of them, and the General Assembly doesn’t appear to be favorably inclined to support such measures despite the filing of a House effort last year. 

After months of stalemate, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians appears ready to advance its cannabis enterprise.

Sharing smokes has proven more difficult than anticipated for the winners of this award, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ cannabis business Qualla Enterprises LLC.