Will medical marijuana become legal? NC bill sponsor predicts the chances are good
Thursday is 4/20. And considering the significance of the number 420 in marijuana culture, this seems like a valid time to rehash the subject of medical cannabis legalization in North Carolina and get an update from state lawmakers.
It’s been more than seven weeks since the North Carolina Senate voted twice at exactly 4:20 p.m. to pass its medical marijuana bill.
That was March 1. The bill passed the Senate with broad, bipartisan support by a margin of 36 to 10. Since then, it has had no movement in the House: It has not been heard in committees, placed on calendars or gotten any votes.
Last year, a nearly identical bill passed the Senate but died in the House, after not being allowed a vote.
But Sen. Paul Lowe, one of the primary bill sponsors, said “we feel pretty confident it will be dealt with during this session.”
Senate Bill 3, the “Compassionate Care Act,” would allow medical marijuana use statewide for people who have cancer, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments. Those do not include chronic pain, and the drug would not be allowed for recreational use.
Supporters say it would provide relief to people affected by illnesses. Some House members expressed concern that the bill would shut out local farmers from the cannabis business, with Black farmers rallying in the legislature in February to denounce what they considered an exclusionary bill.
‘Gut feeling’ bill will pass
With “a whole lot going on with the budget” and more, we “don’t have an exact time what is going to be dealt with,” said Lowe, a Winston-Salem Democrat.
“I can’t give you an exact date,” he told The News & Observer.
“There is a lot of discussion on it. A lot of folks want to see it move soon, but the budget is kind of taking priority right now,” he said.
“I feel like we’re gonna get this bill through,” he said.
What made Lowe so confident the bill would pass?
“A gut feeling,” he said.
Republican Sens. Bill Rabon and Michael Lee, who are primary bill sponsors, could not be reached.
Rep. Larry Potts said the bill has potential to pass.
Potts, a Republican and senior chairman of the health committee, which would be one of the medical marijuana’s first stops if heard in the House, said he had discussed with “the bill sponsor what his purpose and intent was and what he hoped to accomplish in the bill. I think he has some good motives and a good message.”
In February, House Speaker Tim Moore said that the Senate’s medical marijuana bill had “decent prospects of passage” and that there had been a shift in opinion in the House.
“Last year when we didn’t take it up, it was overwhelmingly opposed by most of the caucus,” Moore said. This year, he said, with many new House members, “attitudes have changed, and I think some folks have had an opportunity, once they were back home and met with folks, to see that there’s some potentially legitimate uses for this,” such as the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 4:20 AM with the headline "Will medical marijuana become legal? NC bill sponsor predicts the chances are good."
