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A North Carolina Senate committee on Wednesday took action on a bill to legalize medical marijuana, amending it and setting the stage for approval by the panel at a future meeting.<\/p>\n
A substitute version of the legislation, sponsored by Rules Committee Chairman Bill Rabon (R), was adopted in a voice vote by the Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n
Under the proposal, patients would qualify for medical marijuana under the proposal if they have a \u201cdebilitating medical condition\u201d such as cancer, epilepsy, HIV\/AIDS, Parkinson\u2019s disease, multiple sclerosis. Regulators would have authority to add additional qualifying conditions.<\/p>\n
Rabon, who is himself a cancer survivor, said in an opening statement that \u201cthere\u2019s nothing less compassionate on this Earth than to watch a person you love suffering when there\u2019s something that can ameliorate at least that suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how rough it is to go through chemo. I know how bad it is to wake up every day and think that it may be your last day on Earth,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a personal thing with me. I don\u2019t see the stigma that some people do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it is time to bring this forward,\u201d he continued. \u201cI\u2019m going to see it through as best I can. I owe it to my fellow man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under a substitute amendment adopted<\/a> by the committee, a 13-member Medical Cannabis Advisory Board would be able to \u201creview petitions to add a new debilitating medical condition and have the power to add a new debilitating medical condition,\u201d according to a summary.<\/p>\n The time has come for medical marijuana in North Carolina. <\/p>\n It\u2019s a historic day at the North Carolina General Assembly. In the judiciary committee we\u2019re debating Senate Bill 711 (NC Compassionate Care Act) to allow for strict medical marijuana. pic.twitter.com\/eAI8nmXkgI<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Senator Wiley Nickel (@wileynickel) June 23, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Separately, a nine-member Medical Cannabis Production Commission would be established to \u201cprovide a safe, regulated supply of cannabis appropriate for medical use by qualified registry identification cardholders; ensure statewide access to safe and affordable cannabis to registry identification cardholders; establish a system that is well regulated, includes a seed to sale tracking system, and is financially viable for suppliers to ensure the highest quality cannabis and cannabis infused products for patients; and generate sufficient revenue for the Commission to oversee and for the Department to maintain and operate the system.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 The measure would further create a North Carolina Cannabis Research Program \u201cto conduct objective, scientific research regarding the administration of cannabis or cannabis-infused products as part of medical treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n Because the panel accepted the substitute, there couldn\u2019t be a vote on the full proposal at the same meeting under Senate rules. If ultimately approved by Judiciary, it must also still move through at least three more panels before reaching the floor and then potentially heading to the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n The bill has also been referred to the Senate Finance, Health Care and Rules and Operations Committees.<\/p>\n A majority of North Carolina adults support legalizing marijuana for recreational use\u2014and three in four say it should be legal for medical purposes\u2014according to a poll released in February<\/a>.<\/p>\n Packed committee room today with speakers supporting medical marijuana. (Some opposed too, unfortunately.) I hope we can quit making caretakers, veterans and cancer patients criminals when they are desperate for help for their medical conditions. #ncpol<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/h2AqQ8kUiq<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/kQ79vTVuo8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Senator Natasha Marcus (@NatashaMarcusNC) June 23, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n It\u2019s possible that the legislature could see additional action on a variety of cannabis-related bills this year.<\/p>\n A separate medical cannabis bill<\/a>, adult-use marijuana\u00a0legalization<\/a>\u00a0measures<\/a>\u00a0and several\u00a0pieces<\/a> of cannabis decriminalization<\/a>\u00a0legislation<\/a> have also been introduced in recent months\u2014though they do not currently have bipartisan cosponsorships and would likely face an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled legislature.<\/p>\n While advocates have their doubts about broad reform being enacted in North Carolina this session, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R) recently acknowledged that opinions are shifting<\/a> when it comes to marijuana in the state, and he said that Rabon specifically \u201cfor a long time has looked at the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do sense that public opinion is changing on marijuana\u2014both medical and recreational,\u201d Rabon said previously. \u201cI don\u2019t know where the members of the General Assembly are at this time in terms of support for the bill, but it\u2019s something we\u2019ll look at and we\u2019ll see how things move along.\u201d<\/p>\n Bill sponsors going to great lengths to discuss how this bill is designed for medical cannabis only, clearly an attempt to assuage concerns from members of their party. <\/p>\n Bill isn\u2019t based on the approach of any other state \u2013 it\u2019s a more tightly regulated approach.<\/p>\n \u2014 Sen. Jeff Jackson (@JeffJacksonNC) June 23, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Now hearing from former Marines about how medical cannabis can be preferable to the \u201ccombat cocktail\u201d of prescription medicine that the VA often uses for PTSD. Really powerful testimony about suicide prevention.<\/p>\n \u2014 Sen. Jeff Jackson (@JeffJacksonNC) June 23, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Pressure to end criminalization is also building regionally.<\/p>\n Neighboring Virginia became the first state in the south to legalize marijuana for recreational use<\/a> in April, for example. And the sponsor of a South Carolina medical cannabis legalization bill said he\u2019s received assurances from a top Senate leader that his measure will be taken up as the first order of business<\/a> at the beginning of next year.<\/p>\n A task force convened by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) backed decriminalization as part of a series of policy recommendations<\/a>\u00a0on racial equity that were released late last year. The group also said prior cannabis convictions should be expunged and the state should consider whether to more broadly legalize marijuana.<\/p>\n Under current law, possessing more than half an ounce up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis is a class 1 misdemeanor, subject to up to 45 days imprisonment and a $200 fine. In 2019, there were 3,422 such charges and 1,909 convictions, with 70 percent of those convicted being nonwhite.<\/p>\n Read the North Carolina medical marijuana legalization bill as amended by the committee below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n NC medical cannabis bill<\/a> by Marijuana Moment<\/a><\/p>\n Congressional Democrats Defy Biden By Scrapping D.C. Marijuana Sales Ban<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post North Carolina Senators Act On Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill In Committee<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A North Carolina Senate committee on Wednesday took action on a bill to legalize medical marijuana, amending it and setting the stage for approval by the panel at a future meeting. A substitute version of the legislation, sponsored by Rules Committee Chairman Bill Rabon (R), was adopted in a voiceContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":48437,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48438,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48436\/revisions\/48438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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