U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has indicated she will direct the Justice Department (DOJ) to investigate allegations by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) cannabis operation is marketing products to children and transporting products across boundary lines when making deliveries to its dispensary, the Asheville Citizen Times reports.
During an October 8 hearing, Tillis told Bondi that he couldn’t “find any legal way” to get the cannabis products from the tribal land to the dispensary, which is in a non-contiguous part of the boundary.
“This worries me because it’s a money-making enterprise; it kind of seems like it’s preying on young people. But then, I want to talk about this handy app you can get. Now, it’s illegal in North Carolina, and Tennessee, and Georgia, and South Carolina to buy pot, but apparently, you can order on an app and ride over there and get it, I assume. I assume that they’re not delivering it outside the boundary.” — Tillis, during the hearing, via WLOS
Bondi responded that she would “absolutely” have the agency “look into the issue.”
If the investigation commences – which has not been confirmed by the DOJ – it would mark the first time that a tribal-approved cannabis program is targeted by the federal government. Bondi noted during the hearing that transporting cannabis across state or tribal lines would violate federal law.
In an October 9 statement, EBCI Principal Chief Michell Hicks said Tillis’ suggestion that the North Carolina-based tribe “would endanger children through marketing or sales practices is inaccurate and it is offensive to the values that guide” the tribe. He added that Tillis’ comments mischaracterize “the Tribe’s lawful and transparent activities related to the cultivation, transportation, and marketing” of the products on EBCI land.
“Senator Tillis described the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians as an ‘island’ in a far, forgotten corner of the state. He’s right about one thing: We are an island, and we are a stronghold of culture, integrity, and self-determination.” Hicks said in the statement. “Yet, we are not afforded real representation from his office. From the heart of our ancestral homeland, we stand as a model of how sovereignty and economic development can coexist with respect for state and federal law, the environment, and our neighbors.”
