North Carolina Cherokee boss rejects $64 million proposal for state’s first pharmacy

A tribal chief in North Carolina has reportedly vetoed plans to spend an additional $64 million on what is expected to be the state’s first medicinal cannabis dispensary.

The Charlotte Observer reports that Richard Sneed, the chief chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, said in a Facebook message on Friday that “he vetoed the Tribal Council’s recent approval of the final $64 million for the project.” filed because the original proposal called for the whole project to be completed for $50 million.”

“The fact that the original cost of this project for an outdoor grow, indoor grow, and indoor dispensary was $50 million and we are now being told it is $95 million shows that there is an immediate need a full reckoning of the money has been consumed to date,” Sneed wrote in the message, as quoted by the Charlotte Observer.

The tribe is currently planning to open a giant cannabis convenience store that will be North Carolina’s first marijuana dispensary. According to the Charlotte Observer, “The Cherokee are converting their massive old bingo hall into a dispensary that is the first of its kind in North Carolina — the only place three hours’ drive from Charlotte where weed is legally sold. ”

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians approved an ordinance legalizing medicinal cannabis on their land in 2021.

“The Council’s approval of a medical marijuana regulation is a testament to changing attitudes towards legal marijuana and a recognition of the growing body of evidence supporting cannabis as a medicine, particularly for people with debilitating conditions such as cancer and chronic pain,” said Sneed the time.

In November, the tribe announced that it would begin harvesting its first marijuana crop.

There are no other dispensaries in North Carolina where both medical and recreational cannabis are illegal under state law, but the Cherokee, like other tribes in the United States, have sovereignty over their land.

According to the Charlotte Observer, in his Facebook post on Friday, Sneed “attached a copy of a letter he sent to tribal council leader Richard French informing him of his veto and his reasons.”

The Observer has more background on the dispute:

“Sneed told French that he ‘fully supports cannabis, both for medicinal and adult use.’ He is also “encouraged and inspired” by tribal workers at the Cooper’s Creek grow operation on the tribe’s Qualla border in Cherokee, he added. The operation will be operated by Qualla Enterprises LLC, the tribe’s for-profit medicinal cannabis arm. Still, Sneed told French: “I’m very concerned at the lack of responsibility for managing the business side of the operation. The current projected costs are almost 100% over budget compared to the originally projected RFP costs.’ RFP stands for ‘Request for Proposals’.”

The pharmacy is scheduled to open later this year.

Lawmakers in the North Carolina state legislature have pushed ahead with a bill that would legalize medical cannabis treatment in the state.

Republican Senator Bill Rabon introduced a bill earlier this year called the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act that would legalize treatment for a variety of qualifying conditions, including: “cancer; Epilepsy; Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive status; Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (AIDs); amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); Crohn’s disease; Sickle cell anemia; Parkinson’s disease; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder … Multiple Sclerosis; cachexia or wasting syndrome; Severe or persistent nausea in a person who is not pregnant, related to end-of-life care or hospice care, or who is bedridden or housebound due to a medical condition; An incurable disease when the patient’s remaining life expectancy is less than six months; [or] A condition that results in the person receiving hospice care.”