The Justice Department will examine claims made by North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is advertising cannabis merchandise to youngsters and shifting marijuana throughout jurisdictional boundaries.
Eastern Band Principal Chief Michell Hicks denied that this system violates federal legislation, in keeping with the Asheville Citizen Times.
During the Senate’s Oct. 7 oversight listening to on the Department of Justice, Tillis shifted the dialogue to the Great Smoky Cannabis Co.
The program, the South’s solely Indigenous cannabis initiative, got here under scrutiny as Tillis offered Halloween-themed advertising supplies and an aerial {photograph} of a cannabis farm displayed on posterboard.
“There’s a rising operation in Western North Carolina that’s a part of tribal lands. The downside is that I can’t discover any authorized technique to get this pot … to the dispensary, which is one other non-contiguous a part of the boundary,” Tillis stated.
The Great Smoky Cannabis Co. is a tribal-supported cannabis enterprise positioned within the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. It started medical gross sales in April 2024 and expanded to incorporate a public leisure program in September of that 12 months.
As the one authorized leisure marijuana operation in North Carolina, it represents the fruits of 5 years of tribal funding in its farm and services.
But as soon as prospects take the product past the boundary, possession turns into unlawful.
Although marijuana stays unlawful under federal and North Carolina legislation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians operates as a sovereign nation.
Despite its impartial standing, Rep. Chuck Edwards, Sen. Ted Budd and Tillis have persistently raised questions in regards to the legality of the tribe’s cannabis operation.
