Seeing green: EBCI advances medical cannabis program amid challenges in North Carolina – WLOS
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by Jennifer Emert
QUALLA BOUNDARY, N.C. (WLOS) — Google medical marijuana and North Carolina and you get 6.2 million results. While the debate to legalize medical cannabis continued in Raleigh, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' Tribal Council approved a medical cannabis program two years ago. The tribe’s been growing cannabis for more than a year, and, in the last month, opened enrollment in the EBCI medical cannabis program to tribal members as well as North Carolina residents.
News 13 investigated three components of the EBCI medical cannabis program — some of which are moving forward and others that revealed problematic signs.
SEEING GREEN: WHAT'S THE STATUS OF THE EBCI'S MEDICAL CANNABIS PROGRAM?
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It's the patient card many in North Carolina have anticipated.
“We will begin issuing the cards within the next 60-plus days or sooner,"EBCI Cannabis Control BoardchairmanDavid Wijewickrama said.
A camera and gear were recently installed at the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Cannabis Control Board office, green-lighting the medical cannabis card process for hundreds who have applied and meet the tribe's 20 criteria. The tribe recently opened the process to North Carolina residents as well as tribe members who’ve been able to apply since April 20, 2023.
EBCI MEDICAL CANNABIS PROGRAM AUDIT ON HOLD, RECREATIONAL USE HEADS TO SEPT. VOTE
On the card's front is a patient’s laser-etched image, and on the back is a protective barcode.
“The idea behind it is to prevent fraud and to keep the patient’s health care information protected pursuant to HIPPA regulations,” Wijewickrama said.
The card is the key to buying legal cannabis within North Carolina, which has yet to legalize cannabis.
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“The card has embedded technology that will allow the dispensary to access the basic information and track the monthly consumption and purchasing of the patient,” Wijewickrama said.
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While the regulatory side is a go, it’s the operations side that's slowing the opening of the dispensary.
“I think the last I heard was toward the end of July, possibly early, early August at the latest,” Big Cove Tribal Council Representative Teresa McCoy said.
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With key site components still forthcoming, the process is moving forward under caution.
“Right now, the tribe is in front in the state of North Carolina and we have a large amount of product in storage right now,” said McCoy.
Qualla Enterprises LLC, the tribe-owned operations arm, has amassed buds and bio-mass, but before the cannabis is packaged, it must be tested.
News 13’s drone revealed the site's growth, just in several months.
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Qualla Enterprises requested an on-site lab license from the Cannabis Control Board in March 2023.
“Has a lab been constructed?” News 13 questioned the Cannabis Control Board.
“I have not seen one yet,” Wijewickrama replied.
“Does the product have to be tested on-site?” questioned News 13.
“Yes,” Wijewickrama answered.
“If there’s no lab, how do you test product and sell it?” News 13 asked.
“You can’t sell product unless it’s been tested. It has to be tested in order to be sold,” Wijewickrama said.
"Still, to date, there’s no way to test it on site?" News 13 asked.
“No way to test it on-site, correct,” Wijewickrama answered.
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News 13 has tried repeatedly to talk with Qualla Enterprises LLC via email, on-site and at its office only to be told everyone was busy.
At Tribal Council, News 13 spoke with Sovereign Cannabis Solutions, its vendor partner, who declined an interview but promised an on-site tour. A month later, no tour.
According to the Cannabis Control Board, “To get a lab up and running, from what I’ve been told, takes a few months,” Wijewickrama said.
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It's getting the product from the grow site at Coopers Creek to the dispensary that has tribal regulators throwing up stop signs.
“Transporting it from the Coopers Creek site to the dispensary,” News 13 started to question when the chairman jumped in.
“That is a challenge. It is a challenge that Qualla has got to overcome. They’re going to have to strategize and develop a plan for,” Wijewickrama said.
While the Coopers Creek site is tribal land, by road, it’s half a mile from the boundary. So, to reach the dispensary, the product must be moved along state-owned roads, which has prompted a warning from Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran.
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In a statement sent to News 13, Sheriff Cochran said, “I have had several conversations with the chief, tribal attorney general, and others about the transportation of the cannabis from the Coopers Creek location back onto tribal property. I stated that until North Carolina changes the law, that it is still illegal to possess or transport marijuana on the highway.”
“One of the requirements is that Qualla will have to submit to us a transportation proposal that does not violate state law, that simple,” Wijewickrama said.
Attorney General Josh Stein ttold News 13, “This is an issue that the tribe and local law enforcement will need to work out.”
$64M LOAN FOR EBCI'S MEDICAL CANNABIS PROGRAM VETOED, CHIEF CALLS FOR AUDIT
Principal Chief Richard Sneed believes there's more to work than the lab and transportation. He also wants a forensic audit.
“There are too many unanswered questions about the finances and day-to-day operations of the business side of this project. In short, the people of this tribe have a right to know how their money is being spent,” Sneed said.
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He's still waiting for Qualla Enterprises to explain how it has spent the $31 million allocated to the project.
“As the chief of the tribe, I’m asking for a company that we own, I’m saying I would like to see your salary, not just the salary structure, but your positions, the position descriptions, and the salaries, not the employees, the position and the salary that goes along with it. Silence,” Sneed said.
During a sit-down interview in Sneed’s office, he told News 13, “I’ve asked questions for the last five or six months about changes in the cost projections. The items that were promised in the RFP, the glass greenhouses, we were told in a closed work session the reason that those weren’t purchased was because it was going to be $33 million. My office contacted the actual vendor who they listed in their RFP, and the phase 1 would have cost $1.3 million.”
According to Sneed, the bigger issue is the cost of the hoop houses.
“There’s no way the plastic hoop house with the infrastructure costs $66,000. If that’s the case, I’ve asked for documentation. I said, ‘Then show me.’ Right? I don’t need a forensic audit for that. I asked the board, show me the documentation, explain to me how it is that a $16,000 hoop house now costs $66,000. Where is the other $50,000 going?” Sneed said.
He went on to tell News 13 the way Qualla Enterprises is justifying the costs is with infrastructure, security issues and so forth.
Sneed said he pointed out in the one-page capital requirements that some $3 million to $4 million had been set aside for site work and security. Again, he questioned where the money was going. And, if Qualla Enterprises is claiming full transparency, then it should “provide the documentation that I’m asking for,” Sneed said.
According to Sneed, the contract with the vendor required it to provide a fiscal management policy, an SOP or standard operating procedures, since it is responsible for the day-to-day management of the project. He’s also asked for a copy of it liability insurance policy, a requirement of the contract, but that has yet to be provided, according to Sneed.
The tribe is watching Raleigh. If legislators approve a medical cannabis program, it could ease transportation issues. The EBCI is also vying for a medical license, another avenue for its products.
2026 Sinclair, Inc.
