Asheville has hemp shops and cannabis dispensaries in just about every neighborhood. One grows its own flower in a grow room you can see from the sales floor. Others are family farms out in Leicester and Candler. One delivers to your door, often in about an hour. This guide covers the local ones worth knowing, starting with the Dig Local members who help keep this site going.
Most shops here sell to adults 21 and up, so bring your ID. Federal hemp rules are changing in December 2026, so see the FAQ at the bottom before you plan a big shopping trip.
Smokey Mountain Hemp Co.
South Slope, 150 Coxe Avenue
Smokey Mountain Hemp Co. grows its own flower right on site, on the corner of Coxe and Banks Avenue across from The Funkatorium. A big window off the sales floor looks straight into one of the grow rooms, so you can see where the house flower comes from before you buy it. The shelves also carry concentrates, vapes, gummies, tinctures, hemp drinks like Moonwater and Asheville's own WNC CBD (World Needs Cannabis) line, plus a glass gallery. The staff walks newcomers through the menu with no pressure. It's LGBTQ owned.
Tip: Ask which in-house strains are on sale. Their own flower is often the best deal on the shelf.
WNC CBD (World Needs Cannabis)
Asheville, online and on local shelves
WNC CBD (World Needs Cannabis) started in 2019. Mike and Meghan, a family-owned team, launched it on a $10,000 personal loan and a lot of Googling. There's no storefront. You can find their products at Smokey Mountain Hemp Co. on Coxe Avenue, including the Dog Walkers pre-rolls, and at Golden Goat, or order the full lineup at wnc-cbd.com. Their limited flower drops have been known to sell out fast. After Helene, their Carolina Comeback strain raised $18,000 for the Community Housing Coalition of Madison County.
Tip: Join their email list at wnc-cbd.com for 20% off your first order and early word on new drops.
Hemp 4 Victory
Woodfin, 146 Weaverville Highway
Hemp 4 Victory is a small, easygoing neighborhood shop just north of downtown, with a fireplace and glass cases full of product. Expect tinctures, gummies, chocolates, pre-rolls, vape carts, topicals, bath bombs and CBD treats for dogs, from brands like Mellow Fellow, Bhumi and JustCBD. It's a good first stop for the CBD-curious, since the crew knows the products and won't make you feel dumb for asking.
Tip: Tell the crew what you're curious about, and they'll line up a few options side by side so you can compare.
Arete Hemp
Local delivery in Asheville and Charlotte, shipping nationwide
Arete is a family-owned Asheville hemp and cannabis company that delivers instead of running a storefront. Through Arete Express, local orders often show up in about an hour, and everything else ships. The menu covers indoor-grown THCa flower in Budget and Luxury collections, hemp CBD flower, pre-rolls and Delta 9 gummies. Arete also runs a yearly Thanksgiving giveaway of family dinners at Sage and Spice on Patton Avenue.
Tip: Ordering local delivery for the first time? Ask about free pre-rolls on your first order.
Instant Karma Asheville
Downtown, 36 North Lexington Avenue, and West Asheville, 725 Haywood Road
Instant Karma isn't a dispensary. It's a hippie gift shop that's been on Lexington Avenue for more than 30 years, with a second shop on Haywood Road in West Asheville. Alongside the tie-dye, tapestries, tarot decks, crystals and incense, you'll find Astria Farm hemp gummies for adults. It's a good stop if you want a gift and some hemp in the same trip.
Tip: Downtown, park at the Rankin Avenue garage a block away.
South Slope and Biltmore Avenue
- Rush N Relax Cannabis, 373 Biltmore Avenue. Dim and upscale inside, with house-made chocolate bars and caramels. Ask about a tour of how the house products are made.
- Asheville Dispensary, 32 Banks Avenue. This is the larger of its two shops; the original is on Haywood Road. Both open early and stay open late.
North Asheville and Woodfin
- High Achievers Cannabis, 570 Merrimon Avenue and 332 Weaverville Road. A hemp house with tiered flower shelves and a daily 4:20 happy hour.
South Asheville and Swannanoa
- Golden Goat Cannabis and Culture Shop, 1987 Hendersonville Road and 2338 US-70 in Swannanoa. The Swannanoa shop is in the old Carolina Glass Company warehouse, on the way to Black Mountain.
Local hemp farms and makers
These are growers and makers. Most sell online and through local shops, so check their sites before you drive out.
- Otherside Hemp, Leicester. A family-run organic farm that grows, hand-trims and cures its own flower.
- Appalachian Standard Hemp, Candler. A veteran-owned craft farm with greenhouse-grown, small-batch hemp.
- Green River Botanicals, Candler. A certified organic family farm at the base of Mount Pisgah that posts its lab results online.
FAQ
Can you buy weed in Asheville?
Not legally, in the sense most people mean. Recreational marijuana is still illegal in North Carolina. Asheville's dispensaries sell hemp products, including CBD, THCa flower and hemp-derived THC gummies. The exception is Great Smoky Cannabis Company in Cherokee, owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which has sold to any adult 21 or older since September 2024 (AP News). North Carolina law still applies once you leave tribal land.
What's the difference between CBD, hemp and THCa?
Hemp is cannabis grown to stay under the federal limit for THC. CBD is a compound in hemp that generally isn't considered intoxicating. THCa is a compound in raw cannabis that turns into THC when it's heated. Federal rules used to count only delta-9 THC, which is how THCa flower ended up on hemp shop shelves. That changes in December 2026 (see below).
Do I need to be 21?
For most of what's sold in this guide, yes. Bring a valid photo ID.
Are the hemp rules changing?
Yes. A new federal definition of hemp counts THCa toward total THC and caps finished products at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. Most of it takes effect December 11, 2026, after Congress pushed the date back from November 12 (Congressional Research Service). Several bills in Congress would delay the change or regulate these products instead, but none had passed as of mid-October 2026 (AP News). What's on shelves may change, so check with the shop.
