04/20/2026
(We're posting this at 4:20 p.m. on April 20.)
Myrtle Driver Johnson, left, Beloved Woman of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), makes the first legal purchase of cannabis in the State of North Carolina as the Great Smoky Cannabis Company, located in Cherokee, N.C., opened officially on the morning of Saturday, April 20, 2024 for sales of medical cannabis. Eric Bird, right, an EBCI tribal member and employee at the Great Smoky Cannabis Company, showed her products and made the first sale. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)