N. Carolina - Cherokee MMJ

This is an "in honor of 4/20" article about a North Carolina Cherokee-run cannabis business. Besides being a nice little article, they have a video of their operation and a slide show that I enjoyed.

‘Qualla Bear’ weed strain by Cherokees makes NC medical marijuana history
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article273969205.html

Cherokee, N.C. “Qualla Bear” and “Goose Creep” are poised to be the first two unique strains of marijuana legally sold in North Carolina, developed by The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on the eve of their medical cannabis superstore dispensary opening.

And more proprietary strains are on the way, said Forrest Parker, general manager of Qualla Enterprises Inc., the tribe’s for-profit cannabis arm.

“We are about to develop a whole lot of strains,” Parker told The Charlotte Observer on a March 28 tour of EBCI’s grow operation on the Cherokees’ 57,000-acre Qualla Boundary, 46 miles west of Asheville.

On Thursday, April 20, public access will open for medical marijuana card applications. The card enables eligible adults to purchase dispensary products. The dispensary is expected to open on Cherokee tribal land by early fall.

There appears to be growing support among North Carolina lawmakers for limited legalization of medical marijuana statewide. But for now, the Cherokee run the only legal operation, and it’s the only place in North Carolina where buying and using medical marijuana is legal.

What they’re growing is unique, too.

“There’s already over 10 or 12, 15 strains here,” Parker said. “ ... There’s going to be so many. There is no limit.

“Eventually, everything that we produce will come from our in-house genetics.”

Cherokee marijuana strains The tribe is developing strains through on-site genetics research — strains that will not only best suit their mountain environment but also yield the highest-quality cannabis, members said.

“We’ve spent about 10 months really trying to figure out what genetics really looks like for us,” Parker said. “We’re growing, cultivating in a fairly unique situation here.

“Because of the humidity, the climate, the temperature, the seasons here, the Southeast is not an easy place to cultivate cannabis, unless you’re just trying to throw money at infrastructure and do it all indoors,” he said. (snipped)

Granny