Myrtle Driver Johnson, left, Beloved Woman of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), makes the first legal purchase of cannabis in the State of North Carolina as the Great Smoky Cannabis Company, located in Cherokee, N.C., opened officially on the morning of Saturday, April 20 for sales of medical cannabis. Eric Bird, right, an EBCI tribal member and employee at the Great Smoky Cannabis Company, showed her products and made the first sale. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Myrtle Driver Johnson, Beloved Woman of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), made history by making the first legal purchase of cannabis in the State of North Carolina. She purchased several cannabis products at the grand opening of the Great Smoky Cannabis Company, located in Cherokee, N.C., on the morning of Saturday, April 20. Eric Bird, an EBCI tribal member and employee at the company, showed her products and made the first sale.
The Great Smoky Cannabis Company is run by Qualla Enterprises, LLC, an entity of the EBCI.
Myrtle Driver Johnson, center, Beloved Woman of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, cuts the ribbon to officially open the Great Smoky Cannabis Company on the morning of Saturday, April 20.
Forrest Parker, Qualla Enterprises, LLC general manager and an EBCI tribal member, said during Saturday’s opening, “It’s important to remember that our people have always been in communion with our natural resources. These mountains are older and wiser than us, and our elders are too.”
“We built this thing with our Tribe and for our Tribe. We all work for the people.”
Parker stated that the wording under the company name on its logo is in Cherokee syllabary and translates into English as “Medicine from the Earth”.
He added, “We know how much healing exists in plant medicine, but we’re not solely in the business of cultivating cannabis. We’re in the business of cultivating people. We’re in the business of changing lives and creating opportunities for growth where it otherwise is severely limited. For our young people, especially, purpose, belonging, value, and respect are commodities not always readily available outside of our own homelands. This project will change the trajectory of their lives forever. It will be a conduit for generations of social, economic, medicinal, and spiritual growth unlike anything this region has ever witnessed.”
Beloved Woman Johnson commented, “It makes me feel good that now we can add cannabis to our Native American medicines…it is a great day for the Cherokee people today.”
Elawodi (Yellowhill) Rep. Tom Wahnetah said, “This is a great day for the Eastern Band and the state of North Carolina.”
“We’ve worked very hard for the past three years to get this opened up. I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for the area, for the state, and for all the people that need cannabis to help them with their problems, their illnesses…the studies show it is a great medicine and it has been a medicine for people for thousands and thousands of years. We’ve been here over 10,000 years and we’ve used it, we continue to use it, and we hope to teach the rest of the state and the world what a great product it is.”
Parker went on to say, “Qualla Enterprises is setting up the largest cannabis market in the history of the United States right here on our sovereign lands. No one has done it on this scale, much less on a vertical seed-to-sale market scale. No one.”
Cannabis plants were on display during Saturday’s opening event.
Carolyn West, Qualla Enterprises, LLC board chairperson and an EBCI tribal member, said, “Qualla Enterprises has acknowledged the Cherokee core values and we’ve taken a strong connection with the land and honoring our past. Since time immemorial, the Cherokee people have used medicine from the earth. The medical cannabis code in policy brings this long-standing tradition into the modern world.”
“I’d like to thank everyone who works on the farm. Without your hard work, your labor, none of this would be possible. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
The entire operation prides itself on being run predominantly by members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
During a Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) work session last month, Qualla Enterprises, LLC officials reported that the company has a total of 93 employees with 82 percent (76) being EBCI tribal members. The employees work in the following areas: administration (9), cultivation (50), production/processing (4), retail (18), and security (12).
Parker and West both thanked EBCI tribal leadership, past and present; the Qualla Enterprises, LLC board; and the company’s partners, SSC (Sovereign Solutions Carolina).
Of leadership, Parker said, “There’s a lot of discussions. There’s a lot of long days and hard days. I’m so thankful that we have the leaders of our Tribe that are willing to get down with it and put the nose to the grindstone and come up with solutions and opportunities for the greater good of our people.”
West noted, “Thank you to tribal leadership, past and present, who had the vision to help their people prosper in the future.”
Parker said of the board, “You guys embody everything that we do. You embraced it with us. You push us. You checked us when you don’t feel it happening and we thank you for that. We want you to hold us accountable. We want to make you proud. We’re all in this together and I couldn’t be more thankful to each and every one of you.”
Cannabis gummies are just a few of the numerous products available.
West said the board’s leadership “has kept this project moving forward for the benefit of everyone”.
Parker said that SSC’s vision has been very helpful in creating a business owned by and run by EBCI tribal members. “With over 80 percent tribal members…we’re doing this with our own people every day and that’s because of our partners and how they stepped us up and how they envisioned this.”
West echoed that sentiment on SSC stating, “Your leadership and expertise are immeasurable. And the way that you have embraced our community and our culture is wonderful.”
In February, a study was released by the University of Iowa College of Public Health stating that 17 percent of American adults aged 50-64 had used cannabis in the past year. The study was published in The Gerontologist.
Study authors noted, “We expect cannabis use among late middle age and older Americans will at least double in the decade ahead. As many as one of every five persons over 50 may be using cannabis in the year 2023, and mostly for a medical condition or symptoms.”
For more information on the Great Smoky Cannabis Company, visit: https://www.greatsmokycannabisco.com
