North Carolina Lawmakers File a Bill Legalizing Medical Marijuana – MEDCAN24

New legislation in the North Carolina House of Representatives legalizes medical marijuana. This would be for those with a range of specific conditions such as cancer, epilepsy HIV/AIDS Parkinson’s Disease, PTSD and end of life care.

Aisha dew, a Democratic legislator, filed HB 1011 on Tuesday. It has also been cosponsored with several other Democratic members of Congress.

The North Carolina Compassionate Care Act (28 pages) is much more detailed than a different medical marijuana legislation introduced this week by Democrats that only allowed access to patients enrolled into a “registered study.”

Advocacy groups have been waiting for the House’s introduction of a comprehensive medical marijuana bill. This is especially true since Senate president Phil Berger said that his chamber would defer to the House on this issue.

Kevin Caldwell told MEDCAN24 by email that he is “glad to finally have a true medical cannabis legislation introduced”.

The new bill, HB 1011, appears to be based largely on an earlier medical marijuana proposal from Sen. Bill Rabon (R), SB 3, filed in the 2023–2024 legislative session. This measure was passed by the Senate, but did not advance in the House. It failed due to a rule informally requiring that a majority in the GOP caucus in the House support the bill before it can be brought up for debate.

Caldwell of MPP stated that it would be better if the House Medical Marijuana Bill was sponsored by a Republican. This would, he argued, increase the chances for the bill to get heard in the GOP controlled body. He added, “legislators knew a medical marijuana bill was in the works and I hope that they take advantage of this opportunity to offer relief to the thousands of North Carolinians suffering from debilitating illnesses.”

According to the findings of this new measure, “medical studies have shown that cannabinoid-rich cannabis is effective in alleviating nausea, pain and other debilitating symptoms.” The new measure states that “medical research has found that cannabis and cannabinoid compounds are effective at alleviating pain, nausea, and other symptoms associated with several debilitating medical conditions.”

The new program for medical cannabis would be overseen under the proposed proposal by the Department of Health and Human Services of the State.

The House Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations referred the newly introduced measure to them.

Below are some key aspects of the new Bill, HB1011:

• Cannabis would only be legal for patients with “debilitating conditions” like cancer, epilepsy or HIV/AIDS.
• Registrated caregivers who are 21 or older can obtain marijuana in the name of their patients.
• The state will not charge sales tax on purchases of medical marijuana.
• Under the proposed bill, both smoking and vaping are allowed. However, the doctor would still need to mention the delivery method intended when providing a recommendation for medical marijuana.
• In public areas, workplaces, vehicles, and near childcare centers, schools and churches, smoking and vaping will be banned. Infractions are punishable by fines up to $25.
• Medical Cannabis Production Commission: A commission would be formed to supervise licensing, and ensure that the medical cannabis program is regulated. It will also oversee an adequate supply for patients.
• Up to 10 providers of medical marijuana could control cultivation and sales. Each supplier can operate up to 8 dispensaries or “medical Cannabis Centers.”
• The dispensaries were only allowed to operate between 7 am and 7 pm and they could not be near schools, churches, childcare centers, community colleges, or universities.
• The licensing fee for suppliers would be $50,000 plus an additional $5,000 per production facility and dispensary that they intend to open. Applicants who are majority owners would have to provide proof that they lived in the state for at least 2 years.
• Department of Health and Human Services would be responsible for overseeing the program and would set rules regarding independent lab testing of marijuana and cannabis-based products.
• The Compassionate Use Advisory Board could make suggestions for the program, and add new conditions of eligibility.
• The measure would further create a North Carolina Cannabis Research Program to “undertake objective, scientific research regarding the administration of cannabis or cannabis-infused products as part of medical treatment.”
• The doctors must update a confidential database in the state within two working days after making any changes to patient certifications.

Berger stated recently that they will await the House to pass a bill in response to the Senate bill passed last year.

“I don’t know that the Senate will be passing anything initially in this session,” he said earlier this month. “I think we’re going to wait and see what comes out of the House.”

Introduction of HB 1011 comes on the heels of another Democratic-led medical marijuana bill. That proposal—HB 984, from Rep. Julia Greenfield (D) and five other Democratic lawmakers—would more narrowly legalize medical cannabis, allowing access only for patients enrolled in a “registered research study” conducted by a state-registered hospital, university, lab, pharmaceutical manufacturer or private medical research company.

The legislation specifies no age limit for patients, but registered caregivers would need to be at least 18. As for qualifying conditions, it lists no specific maladies but mandates that patients obtain a signed statement from “a physician with whom the patient has a bona fide physician-patient relationship indicating that, in the physician’s professional opinion, the patient has a medical condition and the potential health benefits of the medical use of cannabis would likely outweigh the health risks for the patient.”

It’s not immediately clear how accessible the research-focused program would be in practice, though it appears that authors intend the program to be relatively open.

The measure states, for example, that it’s the General Assembly’s intent “that any physician who issues a written certification to a patient be permitted to participate in objective scientific research.” It also defines research broadly to include “the development of quality control, purity, and labeling standards for cannabis; sound advice and recommendations on the best practices for the safe and efficient medical use of cannabis; and analysis of genetic and healing properties of the many varied strains of cannabis to determine which strains may be best suited for a particular medical condition or treatment.”

Two other measures introduced so far this session would legalize cannabis in North Carolina. In the Senate, S350 would create medical and adult-use marijuana systems, while H413 in the House would legalize only recreational marijuana.

—
MEDCAN24 is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—

House Speaker Destin Hall (R) said in early March that Republicans in his chamber could be willing to consider medical marijuana legalization this session. But he didn’t indicate any forthcoming House bills, instead suggesting legislation would come from the Senate.

In a wide-ranging interview with the The News & Observer, the publication reported that Hall “said House Republicans could be more open to what the Senate sends over to them” than they have in past sessions.

Voters, for their part, seem to be on board with cannabis reform. 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.

Lawmakers have also shown an appetite to take up hemp regulation, with Berger saying earlier this year that “it seems to me that there’s an opportunity there to address the medical marijuana issue,” as well as hemp-derived cannabinoids “at some point during the session.”

Last summer, the state Senate approved a bill that would legalize medical marijuana—but it stalled out in the House once again.

The legislation was similar to a bill from Rabon, a cancer survivor who has sponsored multiple medical marijuana proposals. The senator previously described his interest in using the hemp legislation as a potential vehicle after his most recent standalone died in the House.

The senator has emphasized that he’s speaking from personal experience when he discusses his support for the legislation. As he’s previously disclosed, Rabon said his doctor advised him to use marijuana before he went through serious chemotherapy, and he visited his local law enforcement to tell them that he intended to break the law to use the plant for therapy.

Former House Speaker Tim Moore (R) said last year that while he personally supports legalizing medical marijuana, there is an informal rule in the chamber that at least 37 GOP members must back any given bill in order to bring it to the floor.

Current House Speaker Hall, for his part, has in the past voiced opposition to medical cannabis reform.

Rabon’s standalone legislation moved through the Senate and was taken up by a House committee last year, but it did not advance further in that chamber.

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 said that was “unfortunately” the case.

A previous version of the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act from Rabon passed the Senate but did not get a vote in the House of Representatives in 2022.

The Senate president previously acknowledged that opinions are shifting when it comes to marijuana in the state, and he said that Rabon specifically “for a long time has looked at the issue.”

Rabon also took another step, including medical marijuana regulatory appointments for the yet-to-be-enacted program in a separate measure that passed the Senate last year.

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.

Largest-Ever Analysis Of Medical Marijuana To Treat Cancer Symptoms Shows ‘Overwhelming Scientific Consensus’ On Benefits