Tribal members in Cherokee can legally buy recreational marijuana, and it's giving some residents hope for marijuana legalization in the state in the future.
Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians backed the adult use of marijuana on their tribal land in an overwhelming vote in September and the legal purchase of medical marijuana in April. The sale is only for tribal members and must be used in the Qualla boundary.
Bill Devine, a Cherokee resident, said he's already using marijuana for medicinal purposes and is taking note of how recreational marijuana sales are taking place at Cherokee's Great Smokey Cannabis Company, a dispensary opened in April.
"My concern was what's going to happen if the people needed the medical stuff," he said. "Are they going to have enough supply?" Devine expects the dispensary to get busier with recreational sales legal in Cherokee, a sovereign nation, and wonders if people will take it elsewhere. "How many people are coming from all over to buy it here to where it's not legal?" he asked.
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