'If they say they do want adult use, then move forward. 'If our voters say no, they don't want adult use, then let's fly in there and get that medicinal,' Council member Teresa McCoy, who offered the resolution last Thursday, told council colleagues. Tribal leaders suggested approval of the referendum question will lead to recreational marijuana sales, The Charlotte Observer reported. If the expansion of sales is approved in a referendum, it's unclear whether such cards will be needed. The original plan was to issue medical cards for eligible adults to purchase from the dispensary. It also formed a medical marijuana structure that includes a tribe-created business to grow cannabis and sell it in a large dispensary that remains under construction - making it the first and only place to legally purchase marijuana in North Carolina. In 2021, the tribe decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana within the Eastern Band's 57,000-acre (23,000-hectare) Qualla Boundary.

The Tribal Council agreed last week to place the question on the ballot during the tribe's Sept. Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will vote in September on whether they want to legalize marijuana possession and sales on tribal lands for anyone 21 and older - not just for those seeking it for medical use that the North Carolina tribe had already authorized.

Cherokee casino opening date