By CHRIS SUTTLE
Chapel Hill, N.C.
30 years in the cannabis industry has taken me from criminal to consultant, patient to survivor, and led to more travel than I can keep track of most days. I’ve seen a lot of changes and innovations in the industry during that time, both good and bad. All this experience makes being left speechless a rare occurrence, one I got to be reminded of this weekend thanks to members of Qualla Enterprises and the EBCI CCB (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Cannabis Control Board) office.
During my recent stay at the Harrah’s resort this weekend I was fortunate enough to be given a tour of the facility that is to come. It was an impromptu visit on my part, one that was greeted with a level of hospitality rarely seen in this industry.
During my guided tour of the Great Smoky Mountain Cannabis Company dispensary building, I was shown not just what it is now, but the vision behind what it will become. I have visited several dispensaries in my career, sometimes multiple ones in different states in the same week. Right away I could tell this was going to be different than anything I’d seen so far.
One of my pet peeves when it comes to dispensaries is the “2nd room” design. A typical dispensary experience involves showing up at the location, finding the least sketchy parking option, and then making your way inside a building with little to no signage. There’s a feeling of confusion, making you wonder if you’re in the right place. There’s paperwork to fill out then you get buzzed into another room to be greeted by a security guard who directs you to a line for the order counter.
A dry-erase board hanging on the wall will list different strains and prices, sometimes in a very confusing manner making it difficult to express your needs to the dead-eyed budtender behind a $15 an hour plywood counter. Once you figure out the terminology needed to place an order cash is exchanged for a white paper bag with no label, stapled shut that you can’t even open till you’re outside.
Great Smoky Mountain Cannabis Company breaks this mold right off the bat with their unique floor plan. There’s no level of shame experienced when entering, no threatening site of an armed guard. Instead, you’re greeted by happy and energetic staff members, ready to get your cannabis experience started and make you feel welcome.
Once checked in there’s no second room behind a security door but an open, brilliantly designed floor plan with staff members to walk you through the dispensary experience. Numerous isles of artistically designed display cases guide you through the inventory with a friendly and knowledgeable budtender to answer questions. Even empty of product, just being on the floor and visualizing the potential was overwhelming. It made me fall in love with this industry and cannabis itself all over again.
I was even more astounded when the concept of a working kitchen for infusion classes and a space designated to an indoor grow facility were pointed out. So many companies in this industry focus on the profit margins, forgetting about what cannabis means in the first place. It’s community. It’s healing those that need it most by offering a safe and effective alternative to harmful opioids for chronic conditions and showing them a way to grow in the light instead of dying in the dark.
I know I won’t be the only one that feels this way on opening day. It’s a 4 ½ hour’s drive door to door for me to the Harrah’s casino and hotel, a drive I would happily do once a week just to be near the energy this dispensary experience will create with cannabis consumers nationwide. The cannabis tourism industry’s decision to open the program up to all qualifying North Carolina residents made by the EBCI will be historic and create a new industry standard that will be in place for generations.
There’s still a lot of work to be done and a lot of retaliation from the NCGA (N.C. General Assembly) to push past, but change is finally coming to North Carolina. Cannabis will finally be treated the way it deserves, made available to those who choose it in an environment that celebrates them. The days of feeling like a criminal in the state they love is soon coming to an end for many NC residents, and there’s only one place they’ll be able to experience this long-awaited sensation.
