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A North Carolina Republican senator has refiled a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state, and a key leader in the chamber said that it\u2019s \u201cthe right thing\u201d to do, though he tempered expectations about the prospects of advancing the reform in the House in the short term.<\/p>\n
The new legislation from Senate Rules and Operations Committee Chairman Bill Rabon (R) would allow patients with qualifying conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and multiple sclerosis to possess and purchase cannabis from licensed dispensaries.<\/p>\n
An earlier version of the reform bill cleared the Senate last year, but House Republicans blocked it from advancing further<\/a>.<\/p>\n In an interview<\/a> with Spectrum News 1\u2019s \u201cTrying It Together\u201d podcast, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R) said that the legislation his chamber advanced was \u201cwell-constructed\u201d and \u201caddressed a lot of the concerns that people have\u201d while providing a needed treatment option for patients with serious illnesses.<\/p>\n He said \u201cwe\u2019ll see whether or not this session is the right time,\u201d particularly as it concerns how the GOP-controlled House approaches it, but \u201cI think it\u2019s the right thing for us to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Listen to Berger\u2019s cannabis comments, around 30:20 into the audio below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The Senate president previously acknowledged that opinions are shifting<\/a>\u00a0when 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 House Speaker Tim Moore (R) is among key lawmakers who have downplayed the idea of enacting medical cannabis legislation, saying at one point that \u201cthere are a lot of concerns\u201d with Rabon\u2019s bill that moved through the Senate last year.<\/p>\n Here are the key provisions of the senator\u2019s refiled medical cannabis legislation<\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Patients would be allowed to access cannabis if they have a \u201cdebilitating medical condition\u201d such as cancer, epilepsy, HIV\/AIDS, Parkinson\u2019s disease, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n Smoking and vaping would also be allowed, but doctors would need to prescribe a specific method of delivery and dosages for patients under the revised legislation. And they would need to reevaluate patients\u2019 eligibility for the program at least once a year.<\/p>\n The bill provides for up to 10 medical marijuana suppliers who control the cultivation and sale of cannabis. Each supplier can operate up to eight dispensaries. That\u2019s double the dispensary cap laid out in the earlier version.<\/p>\n Under the bill, a Compassionate Use Advisory Board would be established, and it could add new qualifying medical conditions.<\/p>\n Separately, a Medical Cannabis Production Commission would be created to ensure that there\u2019s an adequate supply of cannabis for patients, oversee licensing and generate enough revenue to regulate the program.<\/p>\n The\u00a0measure\u00a0would further create a North Carolina Cannabis Research Program to \u201cundertake objective, scientific research regarding the administration of cannabis or cannabis-infused products as part of medical treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n There don\u2019t appear to be specific equity provisions that many advocates push for as part of legalization legislation.<\/p>\n \u2014 A findings section in the bill states that it\u2019s the intent of the legislature \u201cprioritize the protection of public health and safety in the creation of a system for the cultivation, processing, and selling of medical cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n Further, \u201cthe General Assembly that the regulatory system created by this Article be nimble and able to respond quickly to changes in the rapidly-evolving cannabis industry.\u201d<\/p>\n For his part, Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said last month that he thinks a medical marijuana legalization bill \u201chas an opportunity to pass\u201d this session<\/a>, and he also reiterated his support for broader decriminalization of cannabis possession, noting racial disparities in enforcement.<\/p>\n Cooper\u2019s public support for decriminalization is a relatively recent development. He first\u00a0openly backed the policy change in October<\/a>, saying that it\u2019s time to \u201cend the stigma,\u201d while separately announcing steps he\u2019s taken to explore his options for independently granting relief to people with existing convictions.<\/p>\n Following President Joe Biden\u2019s mass pardon announcement in October, which also involved a call to action for governors to provide state-level relief, Cooper said that he\u2019s directed state attorneys to\u00a0review pardon authority for marijuana offenses<\/a>.<\/p>\n The governor separately convened a North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice that\u00a0previously recommended decriminalizing marijuana<\/a>. The report from the panel, which is chaired by state Attorney General Josh Stein (D), also included a recommendation for the state to initiate a study on whether to more broadly legalize cannabis sales.<\/p>\n A poll released last year found that 82 percent of North Carolina voters are in favor of legalizing medical cannabis<\/a>\u2014including 75 percent of Republicans, 87 percent of unaffiliated voters and 86 percent of Democrats.<\/p>\n A separate question found that 60 percent of voters back adult-use legalization.<\/p>\n The survey showed an increase in support for medical cannabis legalization since voters were\u00a0prompted with the question earlier last year<\/a>, with the results showing that with three in four say patients should have access to marijuana for medical use.<\/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 Delaware Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill In Committee One Day After Regulatory Proposal Advances<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post North Carolina GOP Senator Refiles Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill, With Key Leader Calling It \u2018The Right Thing\u2019 To Do<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A North Carolina Republican senator has refiled a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state, and a key leader in the chamber said that it\u2019s \u201cthe right thing\u201d to do, though he tempered expectations about the prospects of advancing the reform in the House in the short term. TheContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":61195,"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\/61194"}],"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=61194"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61196,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61194\/revisions\/61196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: North Carolina GOP Senator Refiles Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill, With Key Leader Calling It \u2018The Right Thing\u2019 To Do<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"