The Governor of North Carolina is in favor of the legalization of marijuana. He has convened a bipartisan study commission in order to influence the GOP-controlled North Carolina legislature.
Gov. Josh Stein (D) said during an interview with WRAL News that was published on Tuesday that he wants to see the largely unregulated market for intoxicating hemp products reined in to prevent youth access and support public safety—but believed that adults should be able to buy cannabis products from licensed retailers.
Stein stated, “If that is the decision you would like to make as an adult then you should be allowed to make it.” Stein said, “I don’t know all the answers. “I have my own philosophical opinions, but every decision I make has real, complex, and practical consequences.”
To navigate those complicated questions, the governor has issued an executive order to create the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis—comprised of up to 30 members, including lawmakers, law enforcement officials, agriculture industry stakeholders, health experts, tribal representatives, advocates and others to explore possible regulatory models for adult-use marijuana and hemp.
According to the order, reform is needed because “the current lack of regulations, such as age, potency and purity limits, pose a serious threat to North Carolinians in general, but especially our youth.” The order says that “the current lack of regulation, including age, potency, and purity limitations, poses a threat to all North Carolinians, particularly our youth.”
Panel will have to meet for the first time in July, and at least once every two months until December 2026. To be completed by the May 15, 2026 deadline, members must develop initial recommendations and present them to Governor on “a comprehensive cannabis strategy” including any legislation that may have been proposed. The final recommendations are due on December 31, 2026.
Reports would have to include youth prevention programs, impaired driving deterrents, cannabis education, criminal justice reforms, including expungements of previous records, etc.
North Carolina is the nation’s most liberal state, and it has the largest adult marijuana market. The states of Colorado, Massachusetts and North Carolina are not the ones that have legalized marijuana for adult use, then set up a regulation to allow it to be sold. North Carolina has absolutely no laws.
He said, “It’s the Wild West.” “The idea that we have a system where this product—which is a drug that can get you high—is for sale out there without any restrictions on how it’s sold, to me, is insane.”
The governor suggested that the state legalize marijuana to adults over 21. North Carolina would then be making a big policy shift, as it is the only state that does not have a comprehensive program for medical cannabis.
Stein stated in a release that the unregulated market for cannabis is Wild West-like and needs to be regulated. We need to create an adult-only, safe and legal cannabis market. This will protect children.
He said: “I would like to thank the members of General Assembly for taking action against this gaping hole in state law.” We should work together to find a solution that will allow adult sales and is based on safety and public health. “We can all work together to get it right.
Stein was the attorney general of New York State when he led an independent task force for then-Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) task force on racial justice issues recommended that marijuana be decriminalized and broader legalization studied in response to the disparate enforcement patterns.
In the recent session, several limited medical marijuana bills passed through the Senate only to be stalled in the House.
Stein argues that a comprehensive reform of the recreational marijuana market would avoid problems that have been experienced by other states in transitioning their medical markets to adult-use marijuana.
“I am aware of the struggles that different states have had with this issue. In an interview with WRAl, the Governor said that he had heard that regulators have told him that those states that begin with medical marijuana and move on to adult recreational use end up with systems that are irrational because of the differences in regulatory regimes.
The position of one of the appointed members to the advisory council, Senator Bill Rabon (R), could be awkward, given that the senator had long fought for bipartisan legislation legalizing medical marijuana and has insisted this should not be considered a first step towards adult-use legalization.
Stein stated, “I believe we can have a single system.” Stein said, “I think we can have one system.”
This is the reason I bring in people from both chambers, both parties [to the council]”So we can share a mutual understanding, appreciation and strategy on how to deal with this issue in other states,” said the Governor.
Adults should have the right to choose whether they use marijuana with high levels of THC. This is something that I fully support. What I support most is that children cannot purchase it. Today, North Carolina law allows them to. This is simply unacceptable.
John Bell, a Republican who also serves as president of Asterra Labs, a hemp-based company that manufactures CBD consumable products.
Aisha Dew filed a bill (in April) in the House that legalized medical marijuana in a wide range of specific conditions. These include cancer, epilepsy HIV/AIDS Parkinson’s Disease, PTSD and end-of life care.
The North Carolina Compassionate Care Act contains more details than a similar bill, introduced in January by a Democrat-led group of lawmakers that only allowed access to patients who were enrolled in a “registered medical marijuana study.”
The House had not introduced a comprehensive medical marijuana bill yet, and advocates were anxiously awaiting its introduction. This is especially true since Senate president Phil Berger said that his chamber would defer to the House on this issue.
North Carolina has introduced two other bills to legalize marijuana. The Senate’s S350 bill would establish a medical marijuana system and an adult-use marijuana system, while the House H413 measure would only legalize recreational marijuana.
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House Speaker Destin Hall (R) said in early March that Republicans in his chamber could be willing to consider medical marijuana legalization this session. He did not mention any upcoming House bills. Instead, he suggested that legislation will come from the Senate.
Cannabis reform seems to have the support of voters. A poll published in February found that 71 percent of likely voters in North Carolina support legalizing medical marijuana in the state, with majorities across party lines and in every surveyed demographic—aside from people over the age of 80—in favor.
The former House Speaker Tim Moore, (R), said in a statement last year that he supported the medical use of marijuana. However, the informal rule within the chamber is that 37 GOP members are required to back a bill to get it on the floor.
Hall, currently the House Speaker, has previously expressed opposition to reforms relating to medical cannabis.
Former House Majority Leader John Bell (R) said in 2023 that while there were “still discussions going on” about medical marijuana legislation, he was “very sure you won’t see that bill move” due to insufficient support among Republicans. He stated that this was, “unfortunately”, the case.
An Indian tribe in North Carolina launched the state’s first medical marijuana dispensary last April—despite the protests of certain Republican congressional lawmakers. More than a week after legal marijuana sales kicked off to all adults at The Great Smoky Cannabis Co. in Cherokee last year, thousands from across the region made purchases.
Maine Senate passes Psilocybin Bill that legalizes possession but not sale of the psychedelic
Mike Latimer provided the photo.
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