ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) — The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Principal Chief Michell Hicks criticized Senator Thom Tillis for remarks made during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, calling them “inaccurate and offensive.”

Senator Tillis raised concerns about the tribe’s cannabis operation, questioning its marketing and sales practices, particularly the packaging and app used for the store. He suggested the operation might target younger people and questioned whether sales were being conducted outside the tribe’s boundaries, where cannabis is illegal.

In 2023, tribal members voted in a referendum in September backing adult recreational use on their reservation and telling the tribal council to develop legislation to regulate such a market.

Those details were hammered out by the council, approving language in June that effectively decriminalized cannabis on Eastern Band land called the Qualla Boundary.

The following year, the tribe’s marijuana retailer on Western North Carolina tribal lands began selling cannabis products to individuals aged 21 and older. Months before that, the store sold recreational products in-store or via drive-thru to tribal members and adults from other federally recognized tribes. It initially opened in April 2024 for medical marijuana sales.

Chief Hicks defended the tribe in a statement, saying, “To suggest the EBCI would endanger children through marketing or sales practices is inaccurate and it is offensive to the values that guide our tribe.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was questioned by Tillis during the meeting, stated she was unfamiliar with the tribe’s cannabis operation but pledged to have her team investigate the matter.