North Carolina
NC’s 1st marijuana dispensary will open on 4/20 in Cherokee: What to know
The future of marijuana legalization
Here’s what you need to know about the future of marijuana legalization in the United States, from its racist beginnings to today.
While other states have moved to legalize the drug, cannabis has remained illegal in North Carolina. Yet, the sale of medical marijuana might soon begin in a part of the state that is also a sovereign nation — the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Qualla Boundary.
The EBCI is planning to officially launch the Great Smoky Cannabis Co. dispensary, managed by Qualla Enterprises, on April 20. It will be the first marijuana dispensary to open in North Carolina after the EBCI approved the sale of medical marijuana in 2021.
But this isn’t a free-for-all, open-to-the public dispensary. Before you take the trip out to the Qualla Boundary in the Great Smoky Mountains — not to be confused with Great Smoky Mountains National Park — here’s what you need to know.
Who will be able to purchase cannabis?
On March 25, The Great Smoky Cannabis Co. announced that the dispensary would only be open for the sale of medical marijuana on April 20.
Only those with an EBCI medical cannabis patient card or an out-of-state approved medical marijuana card will be eligible to purchase at the dispensary when it opens, according to a March 25 press release from the dispensary.
Where is the dispensary?
Located on the Qualla Boundary, Cherokee is a sovereign nation that has its own elections, laws, government and institutions that are self-governed and autonomous.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are one of three federally recognized sovereign nations that were once part of the larger Cherokee Tribe prior to the Trail of Tears forced removal from their land in Western North Carolina, according to the ECBI website. The other two, Cherokee Nation and the United Kituwah Band, are located in Oklahoma.
Cherokee is not to be confused with Cherokee County, North Carolina, of which parts of the Qualla Boundary are located.
Great Smoky Cannabis Co. is located at 91 Bingo Loop Road in Cherokee.
The dispensary opens at 10 a.m. April 20, and features over 10,000 square feet of retail space, three drive-through windows and a glass shop.
How much will you be able to buy?
Great Smoky Mountain Cannabis recently announced that the sale of medical marijuana will have some purchase limits.
Customers can only buy up to 1 ounce of dry cannabis flower at the dispensary per day, according to a post on the Great Smoky Mountain Cannabis Instagram. The monthly limit is 6 ounces.
As for concentrated THC products, they limit the purchase of 2,500 milligrams of concentrated THC per day. The monthly limit is 10,000 milligrams.
Why not recreational?
The dispensary is on the land of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, where medical marijuana was legalized in 2021.
A September referendum on recreational marijuana indicated support for the recreational sale of the drug, but the ECBI Tribal Council has yet to pass a resolution officially allowing the recreational sale and use of marijuana.
Another Tribal Council work session on a recreational marijuana resolution is planned for 9 a.m. April 18, Tribal Council Chairman Mike Parker announced during the April 4 Tribal Council meeting.
What about legalization in North Carolina?
The possession, sale and distribution of marijuana is currently illegal under current North Carolina general statutes.
However, some low-THC products have been legalized under a 2021 state law. The law allows the sale of products with no more than 0.3% of delta-9, allowing the sale of cannabinoids like THCa and CBD.
District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said that she fully intends to “enforce state laws,” even as the dispensary opens. Welch is the chief criminal prosecutor in Prosecutorial District 43, which includes Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.
“The mission, duty and privilege of the 43rd Prosecutorial District is to enforce state laws. We do not pick certain laws to enforce and ignore others,” Welch said in a April 3 statement regarding the dispensary.
The Great Smoky Cannabis website also comes with a disclaimer: “Upon leaving North Carolina’s Qualla boundary, individuals are subject to state laws, including those regarding cannabis. We recommend that individuals familiarize themselves with their relevant state laws and regulations governing cannabis activities outside of the Qualla boundary.”
The opening of the dispensary has also drawn the ire of Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards — who is running for reelection — and the state’s two senators, Thom Tillis and Ted Budd. Edwards introduced the Stop Pot Act in September, which would penalize states and tribes with legalized marijuana, taking 10% of their federal highway funds.
The act failed to advance past a Sept. 5 referral to a subcommittee under the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Citizen Times reported March 20.
The act has received a critical response from Democratic State Rep. Caleb Rudow — who is running for congress — and EBCI Chief Michell Hicks, who advocated against Edwards’ efforts citing the medicinal qualities of marijuana and tribal sovereignty, the Citizen Times previously reported.
Which states have legalized cannabis?
After Ohio legalized the drug in late 2023, nearly half of the United States has now legalized the drug, as reported by USA TODAY. North Carolina is not one of them.
Here’s a list of states that have legalized recreational cannabis and when it was made official:
- Ohio: 2023
- Minnesota: 2023
- Delaware: 2023
- Rhode Island: 2022
- Maryland: 2022
- Missouri: 2022
- Connecticut: 2021
- New Mexico: 2021
- New York: 2021
- Virginia: 2021
- Arizona: 2020
- Montana: 2020
- New Jersey: 2020
- Vermont: 2020
- Illinois: 2019
- Michigan: 2018
- California: 2016
- Maine: 2016
- Massachusetts: 2016
- Nevada: 2016
- District of Columbia: 2014
- Alaska: 2014
- Oregon: 2014
- Colorado: 2012
- Washington: 2012
Contributing: Orlando Mayorquin and Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY
More: As NC’s 1st cannabis dispensary opens, Cherokee Co. DA to ‘continue to enforce state law’
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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
North Carolina coach Bill Belichick has fired offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer.
“We want to thank Coach Kitchens and Coach Priefer for their commitment and many contributions to our program and student-athletes,” Belichick said in a statement, per ESPN. “We wish them both nothing but the best in their future endeavors.”
Kitchens, the former Alabama quarterback and head coach of the Browns in 2019, was the Tar Heels’ interim coach in 2024.
Belichick brought Priefer to UNC after two decades in the NFL, and two years out of football.
Under Kitchens, North Carolina’s offense ranked 119th in scoring (19.3 PPG) and 129th in total offense (288.8 YPG).
The Tar Heels finished 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the ACC.
Kitchens won Alabama’s Mr. Football honor in 1992 as the quarterback at Etowah High School.
Kitchens shared the quarterback duties at Alabama with Brian Burgdorf in 1995 before taking over full-time under center for the Crimson Tide in the 1996 and 1997 seasons.
After three more college stops, Kitchens entered the NFL as the Dallas Cowboys’ tight-ends coach in 2006 and stayed in the league for the next 17 seasons, including as Cleveland’s head coach in 2019, when the Browns went 6-10.
North Carolina
Ex-senator’s wife, 75, found escaped inmate cowering in the backseat of her car: ‘I was shaking like a leaf’
The 75-year-old wife of a former Republican North Carolina senator had a frightening start to her week when she discovered an escaped inmate hiding in the backseat of her car, according to local reports.
Marie Steinburg, married to ex-State Senator Bob Steinberg, left her Edenton home for work around 7:30 a.m. Monday when she unlocked her Honda Civic and found 23-year-old accused thief Charles Babb cowering in the backseat, with a blanket wrapped around his orange prison jumpsuit.
“I headed out the door, and I clicked the unlock, and it must have scared the guy, because the next thing I know, I saw something moving in my backseat,” the startled senior said, WTKR reported.
“I kept backing up little by little by little because I thought, I don’t know what this man is going to do.”
Babb — who police said escaped from the Chowan County Detention Center Sunday night — then jumped out the car.
While residents were urged to lock their doors and windows, stay inside, and avoid interacting with the armed and dangerous fugitive, Steinburg said she remained calm and began talking to him.
“I figured if I was nice to him, he’d be nice to me,” she said, WAVY reported.
“I just figured that was the thing to do because I didn’t know if he was really dangerous,” Steinburg explained, adding that “he kept saying, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m so cold.’ And, you know, I was startled and I know he was too. And I said, “Well, hey, let me go in and get you a coat.’”
Steinburg said Babb then turned and raced down the driveway — reportedly leaving behind his prison sandals and a face mask — as she ran inside, called out to her husband, and dialed 911.
“I got in as fast as I could,” she recalled, according to WTKR.
“I was shaking like a leaf, and I could barely get the key in the lock, but I did.”
The Edenton Police Department apprehended the convict nearby shortly thereafter.
Police did not give details on how Babb escaped jail, other than to say he used a make-shift edged weapon. He was being held on felony breaking and entering and larceny charges before his breakout, according to the Daily Advance.
Her husband, who advocated for prison reform during his 10 years in office, praised his wife for how she handled the terrifying situation, believing a higher power was looking out for them.
The couple added that they will never forget to lock their car doors again.
“Oh let me tell you, if I don’t, [my husband] is gonna,” a relieved Steinberg said.
“It’s one of those things that we learned.”
The Chowan County Sheriff’s Office has since launched an investigation into Babb’s jailbreak.
Injuries are an unfortunate element in sports, and that has been relevant for the North Carolina Tar Heels this season. Now, most of the time, those injuries occur in games or practices. That was not the case for Seth Trimble, who suffered a broken arm in a workout accident.
The senior guard has not played since the second game of the season against the Kansas Jayhawks on Nov. 7.
Although the injury forced the Tar Heels’ coaching staff and players into an uncomfortable situation, the team has responded, winning six of seven games in Trimble’s absence. You never want to see a player suffer a significant injury, but in this particular case, it has opened the door to possibilities that North Carolina may not have been aware of if this never transpired.
Here is why Trimble’s injury has not been doom and gloom for the Tar Heels in this early portion of the season.
Unlocking a Potential Star Off the Bench
Before the last two games, North Carolina’s backcourt situation appeared to be a significant shortcoming for the Tar Heels. Because of that, Davis was forced to expand his bench with the hopes of unlocking the offense while supplying consistent production.
That has elevated freshman guard Derek Dixon’s role in the rotation, which has proven to be pivotal in North Carolina’s wins in the last two games against Kentucky and Georgetown. During that span, the 6-foot-5 guard has averaged 11.5 points while shooting 53.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range.
With the rotation becoming solidified in recent weeks, head coach Hubert Davis explained how the backcourt has taken shape following the Tar Heels’ win over Georgetown on Sunday.
- “I really like [Kyan] and Derek [Dixon] on the floor at the same time,” Davis continued. “I’ve always said that I love multiple ball handlers. You can’t take us out of our offense. And with those two, with the way that Georgetown was switching defenses, we always had somebody that can handle the basketball and get us into a set and get us organized.”
- “So, it’s trying to figure out rotations,” Davis continued. “And then when Seth comes back, it’s finding it again. Different combinations is one of the things that I was excited about coming into the season. That is the versatility that we have, that we can throw out a number of different rotations out there that can be really effective on the floor.”
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