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North Carolina Open Thread: 420 and counting [1]

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Date: 2023-06-11

NORTH CAROLINA OPEN THREAD Sunday, June 11th, 2023

WEEKLY EDITION #420

This blog is a weekly feature of North Carolina Blue. We hope this weekly platform gives readers interested in North Carolina politics a place to share their knowledge, insight and inspiration as we take back our state from some of the most extreme Republicans in the nation. Please stop by each week. You can also join the discussion in four other weekly State Open Threads . If you are interested in starting your own state blog, weekly to occasionally, I will list your work below.

Colorado: Mondays, 7:00 PM Mountain

Michigan: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Eastern

North Carolina: Sundays, 1:00 PM Eastern

Missouri: Wednesday Evenings

Kansas: Monday Evenings

Following are a few stories about the path to legalization.

Spectrum News 1, Charles Duncan, 5/26/2023

The North Carolina Compassionate Care Act would legalize medical marijuana in the state. The bill has gotten further than earlier efforts to make prescription pot available in North Carolina.

The legislation, SB3, passed the Senate in late February. On Tuesday, it will get its first hearing in the North Carolina House. The bill lays out tight regulations to make medical marijuana legal for a list of conditions, including cancer, AIDS/HIV and post-traumatic stress disorder.

A North Carolina House committee will take up legislation Tuesday that would legalize medical marijuana

The Senate already passed the N.C. Compassionate Care Act with bipartisan support

The bill lays out tight regulations for producing, prescribing and selling medical marijuana in North Carolina

The legislation limits the numbers of conditions for which patients could get a marijuana prescrption, incluing AIDS/HIV, cancer and PTSD

Powerful Republican Sens. Bill Rabon and Michael Lee and Democrat Sen. Paul Lowe are the primary sponsors on the bill in the Senate. They shepherded the same bill through the Senate to pass last year, but that effort stalled out in the House.

Forbes, , A.J. Herrington, 4/19/2023

Lawmakers in North Carolina are looking to make their state the next to end the prohibition of recreational marijuana, with two bills pending in the state legislature that would legalize cannabis for adults.

The first measure, House Bill 626, was filed on Monday by four Democratic members of the House of Representatives, with co-sponsorship from eight of their colleagues. If passed by the state legislature and signed into law, the bill would legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana for adults aged 21 and older.

“People have been smoking cannabis from time immemorial and up until the 1930s, it was essentially legal,” state Rep. Kelly Alexander, one of the sponsors of the bill, said in a statement quoted by WCNC television news. “What we’re trying to do now is to restore that legality.”

Possession of all but small amounts of cannabis in North Carolina is still a crime, although possession of less than a half-ounce of marijuana was decriminalized in 1977 and now results in a fine of up to $200. Even medical marijuana is still prohibited, with only CBD oil low in THC legal for use by patients with intractable epilepsy.

WITN, Merit Morgan, 4/20/2023

Another legislative session and another effort to legalize marijuana in North Carolina.

“I think it’d be a step forward,” says Holistic Co. employee, Matthew Pizzo.

The Compassionate Care Act was first introduced in 2021. It’s a bill that strives to legalize medical marijuana for patients with cancer, PTSD, and other chronic illnesses.

Pizzo believes there to be many medical benefits of the herb. “Anti-inflammatory, inflammation reduction, stress reduction, anxiety purposes, even arthritis, pain management, recreational.” However, lawmakers remain divided on the legislation. Even though the state Senate has passed the bill, it remains stalled in the house, where it died in both 2021 and 2022.

State Representative Tim Reeder says that’s partly because of continued concerns surrounding the drug.

“The NC House of Representatives has been busy addressing the many bills submitted by House Members. Most of the bills filed and passed in the Senate, including Senate Bill 3, are awaiting committee hearings in the House. This is part of the regular legislative process. There has been a bill filed to legalize recreational marijuana. This is also awaiting a hearing in the House of Representatives. I am concerned about both bills that will legalize medical and recreational marijuana. While I am empathetic and want to support those with chronic pain and suffering, the research on medical marijuana is not clear. There is anecdotal evidence, but marijuana had not shown to be effective for all of the conditions listed in the current Senate bill. Also, medical treatment should not be directed in state laws. It should be between the patient and physician. I support expanding research efforts to prove the value and use of medical marijuana,”

A bill to legalize marijuana recreationally was introduced earlier this week by a Mecklenburg County representative. It is unlikely that this legislation will move forward this session.

Currently, 37 states have legalized medical marijuana for adults.

The Chronicle, Jazper Lu, 7/10/2022

The North Carolina Senate took the first steps towards legalizing the use of medical marijuana throughout the state in early June with the passing of the Compassionate Care Act.

If approved, the bill would allow physicians to prescribe medical cannabis to patients for conditions including cancer, epilepsy, HIV, AIDS, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Conditions such as chronic pain, glaucoma and anxiety are not included. Eligible patients younger than 18 years old could also consume medical cannabis through a noninhalation method with the consent and care of a legal guardian.

It would also set up a system with licensed cannabis producers, distributors and two regulatory boards. A new Medical Cannabis Production Commission would issue 10 supplier licenses, each of which are allowed eight potential dispensaries.

SB 711 received bipartisan support and opposition. Led by Sen. Bill Rabon, it ultimately passed with a vote of 35-10. Eight Republicans and two Democrats voted against the bill.

Thanks for reading and contributing, I hope you have a safe week.

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