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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.
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