In early June, the Cherokee Tribal Council voted to allow recreational sales at the tribe's new medical marijuana dispensary in the mountains of North Carolina, the first and only place people can legally buy marijuana in the state. Prior to the vote, customers needed a medical marijuana card issued by the tribe's Cannabis Management Board. “Starting in August, that will no longer be required.” Charlotte Observe“Despite resistance from North Carolina officials, this latest vote demonstrates the tribes' determination to exercise their Native American sovereignty,” said R.
“It's truly a display of sovereignty.”
The Eastern Tribe of Cherokee Nation opened a cannabis superstore, Great Smoky Cannabis Company, in a converted bingo hall in the Great Smoky Mountains on April 20. April 20, a national holiday for cannabis enthusiasts, is the biggest sales day of the year for many cannabis retailers. The store opened a few months after the tribe voted to allow adult use of marijuana on 57,000 acres of territory known as the Qualla Boundary and other lands.
North Carolina is one of nine U.S. states that still bans medical marijuana, and under state law possession of marijuana can lead to prison time. By defying state registration, the band is “exercising its right to make its own rules,” he said. Al Jazeera“We're not asking the state for permission, we're telling the state,” said Forrest Parker, general manager of Qualla Enterprises LLC, the tribally-run corporation that oversees the cannabis business.
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According to Al Jazeera, the tribe is one of 574 federally recognized tribes in the US, “each of which has its own inherent sovereignty — in other words, they have the right to govern themselves.” Tribal lands remain under the jurisdiction of the federal government, but not state authorities. This raises questions about how far tribal sovereignty extends and “whose authority should prevail on indigenous lands.”
“This is unique and truly an act of sovereignty,” John Oseguera, a Walker River Paiute Tribe member, cannabis lobbyist and former Nevada state representative, said of the superstore.
State backlash
Despite the tribe's assertion of sovereignty, the opening of cannabis stores has faced resistance from state officials. In March, two lawmakers letter Federal agencies and departments have requested assistance, Cannabis Business TimesNorth Carolina Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd sent letters to leaders of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and various state agencies. They heard directly from North Carolinians who have concerns about the new pharmacies. The senator With “an unprecedented opioid crisis that is harming our communities” across the country, they urgently need answers on how the federal and state governments plan to “comply with current federal and state laws,” their letter states.
The letter is separate from a bill introduced by Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-Ill.). Stop Pot Law Last September, the band said it planned to legalize marijuana on tribal lands and passed a bill that, if passed, could bar states and tribes that allow recreational marijuana use from receiving some federal funding. “No government law should violate the full law of our nation, and federal funds should not be given to jurisdictions that willfully ignore federal law,” Edwards said.
Experts say the senators have little basis to force dispensaries to close. Any action taken by federal and state law enforcement will likely focus on “investigating potential violations of federal gaming and cannabis regulations,” Al Jazeera reported. Meanwhile, six tribes in Wisconsin issued a statement in support of the North Carolina tribes in response to Senators Tillis and Budd's letter. The Eastern Band also held an intertribal gathering on the Qualla border earlier this month to show solidarity. The tribes' actions “have captured the attention of tribes in states like Idaho who didn't think they had a chance,” said Mary Jane Oatman, leader of the Native American Cannabis Industry Association, a national advocacy group. “It's providing a model of an organized path forward.”
