Pot is still illegal in North Carolina, but possession of less than a half ounce is punishable only with a fine.Ī commission in North Carolina recommended decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot in the state recently.įederal laws on marijuana have been loosened in recent years, but it is still illegal. The tribal council removed part of the ordinance that would have allowed people to give away small amounts of pot without selling it. 'It’s for the betterment of our people,' French said in the meeting. 'All of us have been affected by the opiods,' he said. 'Go out and visit with some of the elders, it’s their medicine,' council member Albert Rose said before voting to approve the law.Ĭouncil member Richard French said legal medicinal marijuana could help the opioid epidemic in the area. The Cherokee have sovereignty and make their own laws on the Qualla Boundary, which includes about 100 square miles over five counties in western North Carolina. “We want to have dispensaries here on the Qualla Boundary and to be able to sell, but we have to start with this phase first,” he said. “ The people want cannabis, the world is changing, society is changing,” Jeremy Wilson, the EBCI’s government affairs liaison, said in an earlier interview.

We have to have this in place first,' Sneed said. 'This is really just the first step, or kind of the cornerstone of moving toward medicinal. “This really is a quality of life issue as well for folks who have debilitating diseases, chronic pain, chronic back pain, cancer.” “There’s so much science now supporting cannabis as a medicine,” Sneed told the tribal council before the vote.

Marijuana laws have been loosening around the country, but it remains illegal in the rest of North Carolina.

The tribal council vote makes the Cherokee land the first area with legal marijuana in the state.The Qualla Boundary includes about 100 square miles in the mountains of western North Carolina.The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted to legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana on tribal land, called the Qualla Boundary.

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