The unregulated market for cannabis in our state is like the Wild West and needs to be tamed. We need to get it right. Let’s create a legal, safe market that is protected for kids and adults.
In North Carolina, people of all ages can buy hemp-derived products such as gummies and drinks, or vapes. These items contain the same medicinal compounds that cause highs.
The world is about to undergo a change.
North Carolina legislators have debated hemp and marijuana regulation for many years. The governor has recently tapped a group of state legislators and an advisory committee to look at ways to manage the rapidly growing market for synthetic hemp, which is unregulated and described as the “wild West” by many.
North Carolina has not made marijuana legal for recreational purposes, even though a growing number states have. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 24 states, including the District of Columbia, and 3 territories, have legalized adult cannabis use for non-medical purposes. The association also states that 39 states permit the use of medical cannabis products.
There is no minimum legal age for purchasing these products. “That means children are buying these products,” said Governor. Josh Stein, a Democrat from Massachusetts said this in a release when he announced he was creating an advisory council that would explore the problem and provide recommendations to help bring order to cannabis markets.
Stein continued, “Without any labeling requirement that is enforced by law, adult users are consuming them for recreational purposes without even knowing the contents or THC content.” The unregulated market for cannabis in our state is the Wild West and needs to be tamed. We need to get it right. Let’s create a legal, safe market that is protected for kids and adults.
There is a lot of back and forth in the legislature
Bill Rabon of Southport, North Carolina, is a Republican and cancer survivor who has worked for years to include North Carolina in the list states that permit the medical use of marijuana. In previous years his colleagues from the North Carolina state Senate supported him, but the House has consistently blocked his legislation.
Four Democratic House Representatives introduced The Compassionate Act, which allows seriously ill patients the use of medical marijuana. However, it’s been sitting in the House Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations, the day it was presented, since the 16th April. Four more Democrats introduced HB984, allowing caregivers and their patients to participate in studies on medical marijuana. The bill would also allow possession up to 1,5 ounces. No committee has heard the bill this session.
Another legislative proposal that started out this session in the state House of Representatives as a bill to ban delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol and delta-9 THC from school buildings and grounds morphed into a much more sweeping regulatory bill that passed June 19 in the state Senate in a 35–7 vote.
I find it shocking that anyone can buy a large amount of these products. The problem is in our schools. It affects children. And it can have a negative effect on our health. This was the statement made by Sen. Benton Sawrey at a Senate Judiciary Meeting held 18 June, just a few days before its chamber’s vote. “We must restrict purchasing THC products and beverages over the age of 21. We need to make sure that we address the packaging aspects—not looking like things that children get their hands onto. This is much-needed. The body’s attention to this sector and its regulation is much needed. “I think that we are behind in this regard nationally, and I’m looking forward to the completion of the regulations.”
Because the Senate’s amended version of House Bill 328 is markedly different from the narrower proposal—which was approved by the House in a 112–0 vote on April 16—the proposed legislation could be changed again. Both versions will still prohibit the use of delta-8 or delta-9 in schools.
Jeff Jackson was in the General Assembly on the day that the Senate voted. He brought his 10-year old son. The state attorney general was advocating regulations. He also informed lawmakers that state Alcohol Law Enforcement agents would be prepared to enforce a new law if it is passed.
According to the Senate version, retailers are not allowed to sell hemp products without a licence. The bill would also restrict the sale and use of kratom. This herbal substance, whether in its natural or synthetic forms, has a stimulating or sedative-like effect, depending on how much is taken.
On June 26, lawmakers left Raleigh to go on holiday without reaching an agreement about a bill that worked for both chambers.
Advise the governor
Stein announced on June 4 the formation of a State Advisory Council on Cannabis. The group is made up of legislators, businessmen, medical practitioners and law enforcement officials. The Governor tasked this group to “study and make recommendations on a comprehensive way of regulating the sale of cannabis” in the entire state.
Kevin Caldwell is the Southeast Legislative Manager at Marijuana Policy Project. This nonprofit, which focuses on reforming marijuana policies, said that he thought it was great. “I believe that in the end it is sensible to regulate this plant.”
Matt Scott is the district attorney of Robeson County and Lawrence H. Greenblatt serves as co-chairmen of the 24 member council.
The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the list of controlled substances, allowing for the legal sale of hemp products containing less than or equal to 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive chemical within cannabis. The 2018 Farm Bill created a legal loophole allowing retailers to sell unregulated psychoactive cannabis using modified formulations in order to meet the 0.3 percent guidelines.
As these products are available in vape stores throughout the state and can be bought by people of all ages, this executive order places a greater emphasis on protecting children than it does criminalizing adult use.
Stein’s order states that there is a disturbing trend over the past few years. Emergency room visits by children and teens aged 17 and under for cannabis consumption have dramatically increased.
Vape products are often packaged in a way that makes them look like non-intoxicating items such as Oreos or gummy Worms. They may also be similar to name brand chocolate bars, including Kit Kats or Twix. This packaging is not only misleading to consumers, but it also attracts children.
THC-infused beverages are also often sold in bars, restaurants and other establishments under the name “nonalcoholic”, without mentioning that they contain an intoxicating substance. Although some of these drinks have been marketed to be “buzzy” alternatives for alcohol, little research has examined their effects on the health.
The basics of hemp and cannabis
Delta-8
Delta-8 THC, which can be bought at vape shops throughout the state, is naturally occuring within the cannabis sativa plant and is often synthetically converted from cannabidiol—or CBD—a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis. As a result, product concentration levels may differ and are not standardized.
Delta-9
Cannabis products typically contain delta-9, which is found at much higher levels in plants. Although delta-9 THC-containing products derived from marijuana are prohibited in North Carolina’s laws, delta-9 derived from hemp is not. THC is the main difference between marijuana and hemp.
To-do list
State Advisory Council on Cannabis, headed by the governor, will examine some of these questions. The group is directed by his executive order to:
- Adopting legislation that addresses age restrictions and packaging of products that is appealing to children.
- Promotion of public education campaigns as well as the development and implementation of prevention and treatments models targeted at young people.
- Give law enforcement the tools to deal with motorists driving under THC influence.
- Support “surveillance for monitoring public health risks and potential marijuana prescriptions to treat.”
- Ensuring standards exist for flavor, potency and what the executive order describes as “purity” of products.
- Expunction of convictions for possession and use of marijuana that are not in line with council advice.
- Create a structure of government that will oversee the business sector, taxation on products and implement the Council’s suggestions to the advantage of the State.
This month the State Advisory Council on Cannabis will begin meeting, and then every two months. The State Advisory Council on Cannabis is required to make preliminary recommendations about cannabis policy by Stein before March 2026 and finalize those by December 2026.
Caldwell said, as the legislative director at Marijuana Policy Project. The governor’s council can be used by others.
“I’m sure it will happen at the federal government level,” said he.
This article first appeared on North Carolina Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Image courtesy Pexels/Kindel Media.
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