Eastern Band of Cherokee vote to legalize recreational marijuana; only place in NC

Cherokee tribal members in a historic vote have said yes to recreational marijuana, paving the way for the reservation to become the only place in North Carolina legalizing its use.

The Sept. 7 referendum showed overwhelming support for the change with 2,464 voting yes and 1,057 voting no.

The recreational cannabis referendum is not technically binding and would have to be followed by legislation, though the Tribal Council has already signaled its support for the change.

The move is a much bigger step than the 2021 decision by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to allow medical marijuana. The medical system is now in place and is on the verge of opening sales to qualifying patients.

Leaders of the body created to run the tribe's for-profit medical marijuana business, Qualla Enterprises LLC, say broader legalization would generate "extraordinary revenue" as well as 400 well-paying jobs in a place that needs employment.

"The demand to work with Qualla is both overwhelming and humbling; Qualla has received hundreds of job applications, and that number grows each week," the group said in a Sept. 6 opinion piece in the Cherokee One Feather, the tribe's official newspaper.

More: Legal marijuana in NC? Cooper, Stein urge lawmakers to decriminalize cannabis

Opponents, though, say legalization of marijuana has been linked to declines in young people's mental health.

"Today’s commercial marijuana products are associated with depression, suicidality, IQ loss and most recently psychosis and schizophrenia, especially for young people," said Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action President Dr. Kevin Sabet in a Sept. 1 news release from the office of Rep. Chuck Edwards.

The Republican congressman represents most of Western North Carolina and says the federal government should take action to stop tribal legalization. His proposed bill, the Stop Pot Act, would withhold 10% of federal highway funds from the Eastern Band and other tribes and states that permit recreational marijuana.

Edwards said the act would "prevent even greater access to drugs and ease the strain placed on our local law enforcement and mental health professionals who are already stretched thin."

The Citizen Times reached out Qualla Enterprise officials, a tribal government spokesperson and Richard Sneed, the Eastern Band chief.

In the Sept. 6 editorial, Qualla Enterprise leaders pushed back on contentions about negative effects.

"Numerous studies have identified several other ways that Adult Use Cannabis actually decreases crime and promotes public health and order," they said.

Those include 2021 findings from the National Bureau of Economic Research that there is "little evidence" that recreational legalization encourages use of harder drugs or violent criminal activity. Other studies showed actual declines in crime and use of other drugs, they said. According to the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, the four states where recreational cannabis was legal in 2021 experienced "a 6% reductionin opioid-related emergency department visits for six months" after passing the law, compared to states that did not legalize.

Parents still purchase CBD for kids almost a year after Asheville City Schools restriction

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at [email protected], 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Cherokee vote to legalize recreational marijuana; only place in NC