Medical marijuana opponents fear that, if legalized, medical marijuana would quickly lead to a push to fully legalize marijuana for recreational use. A new change to the bill is meant to address those concerns, win more GOP support.
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RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Senate on Monday sent its strictest-ever proposal on medical marijuana to the state House for final approval, in a last-minute effort to push a legalization bill over the finish line as the 2024 legislative session enters its final days.
The Senate has now passed a medical marijuana bill in each of the past three years, each time with broad bipartisan support. But in 2022 and 2023 the House refused to allow it to go up for a vote; Senate Republican leaders are now trying to earn more support in their third try. The Senate approved one key change Monday: Banning marijuana from being allowed for recreational use in North Carolina in the future, even if the federal government were to legalize marijuana nationwide.
One of the main arguments opponents to medical marijuana have cited is a concern that, if legalized, medical marijuana would quickly lead to a push to fully legalize marijuana for any adult to use for any reason. This change, proposed by the bill's lead backer Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, is meant to address those concerns.
Medical marijuana enjoys broad bipartisan support among the general public, as well as in the state Senate. It passed the Senate 33-9 in an initial vote last week and 36-10 in the final vote Monday.
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But the House has consistently stonewalled the idea. Although it would be expected to pass if put up for a vote, House Speaker Tim Moore has said not enough House GOP members support the idea, so he won't allow it to receive a vote.
While the new change approved Monday to block future recreational legalization is intended to sway some of those social conservatives in the House who have been blocking it, one of the few marijuana opponents in the Senate urged his like-minded colleagues in the House to stand firm and keep blocking the bill from moving forward: "North Carolina has a way of stopping something that, I think, is a mistake," said Sen. Norm Sanderson, R-Pamlico.
Hemp, CBD regulations
Another effort by the Senate to sweeten the pot for the House is by tieing passage of the medical marijuana bill to a separate bill on CBD and hemp regulations, House Bill 563, a priority of House leadership.
Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein told WRAL last week he was concerned the CBD portion of the bill didn't go far enough to stop children from getting their hands on hemp products currently being sold in North Carolina.
"It does not protect kids by requiring an ID check, placing drugs behind the counter and away from kids (or keep kids out of stores altogether), keeping sales away from schools, adequately addressing advertising or packaging, protecting against child poisonings, or holding violators accountable," Stein wrote in a statement. "We can and must do more to keep our kids safe."
On Monday the Senate voted to amend the bill to address some of those issues. A change to the bill proposed by Sen. Michael Lazzara, R-Onslow, would require stricter ID checks for in-person sales as well as online delivery orders.
The new language approved Monday would also require that in any store open to customers under 21 years old — such as convenience stores — hemp and CBD products would have to be kept locked up, or behind the counter, or otherwise inaccessible to customers without help from an employee.
After the vote Monday night, Stein said the new changes were a good start but shouldn't be the final version.
"I support the provision of the bill regarding medical cannabis, but there is still real work to be done to better protect kids," he said.
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