Cherokee’s recently created medical cannabis LLC will likely have $63 million at its disposal as it prepares for its first year of retail sales, thanks to a vote from Tribal Council Thursday, December 8. The body also acted to set pay rates for the board of managers at Qualla Enterprises LLC and fill two vacant board seats.
“It gives us a lot of confidence that we’re surrounded by people that have done this so many times and have the needed experience and understanding,” Forrest Parker, general manager for Qualla Enterprises LLC, told Tribal Council. “This tribe, I’m so proud of us for putting us in a position to learn from other people’s mistakes so that when we do this right, that number is precise. It’s not $150 million because we’re trying to cover all these things that we don’t know. We feel like we actually know.”
The Tribal Council voted in August 2021 to establish a medical cannabis program on the Qualla Boundary, passing an ordinance that created the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Cannabis Advisory Commission to study cannabis-related issues and make regulatory recommendations, as well as the EBCI Cannabis Control board to set regulations. The EBCI formed Qualla Enterprises on March 13, and it was registered with N.C. Secretary of State Office on July 28, 2022.
While the tribe has thus far authorized the production of medical cannabis only, Qualla Enterprises is eying the potential of future expansion to general adult use. In May 2021, Tribal Council voted to remove criminal penalties for possession of 1 ounce or less of cannabis or 0.15 ounces or less of hashish. Last week, Parker told Tribal Council that the company estimates it can produce and sell $50 million worth of medical cannabis but that sales could reach $350 million if the program opened to general adult use. The facilities planned with the $63 million would accommodate the larger capacity needed to reach the $350 million mark.
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