North Carolina Senators Approve Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill In Committee

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https://www.marijuanamoment.net/north-carolina-senators-approve-medical-marijuana-legalization-bill-in-committee-2/

A North Carolina Senate committee approved a bill to legalize medical marijuana on Tuesday—days after a top House lawmaker said his chamber is positioned to enact the reform this session after blocking similar legislation last year.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which held an initial hearing on the cannabis legislation from Sen. Bill Rabon (R) last week, advanced it in a voice vote. It also adopted several amendments.

The measure, which will have two more Senate panel stops before potentially heading to the floor, 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.

“The intent of this bill is to only make changes to existing state law that are necessary to protect patients and their doctors from criminal and civil penalties, and would not intend to change criminal and civil law for use of non-medical marijuana,” Rabon said ahead of the committee vote.

Before approving the bill, members adopted a number of amendments, including one aimed at increasing law enforcement’s real-time access to data and to provide greater clarity on information required to be shared with police by medical cannabis patients.

Other approved changes require medical cannabis to be transported in a closed containers, add a representative of the North Carolina Medical Board to the Compassionate Use Advisory Board, focus on increasing access to dispensaries in rural and underserved areas of the state and make technical and conforming changes to the bill.

Advocates are confident that the bill will make it through the Senate, as the prior version did during the past session. What’s been less certain is how the GOP-controlled House will approach the issue.

But in an interview last week, House Speaker Tim Moore (R) indicated that he feels the chamber’s new political makeup may give the legislation a pathway for passage.

“I think there’s been a change. We have a lot of new members,” he said, adding that he believes more than 50 percent of lawmakers now back medical cannabis reform. “I would not be surprised at all if that bill moved. I think the odds are more likely than not that something will happen on that.”

That’s a significant change in tone for the speaker, who previously remarked that there were “a lot of concerns” with Rabon’s bill.

Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R) said in an interview with the same podcast last month that the legislation his chamber advanced last session was “well-constructed” and “addressed a lot of the concerns that people have” while providing a needed treatment option for patients with serious illnesses.

Here are the key provisions of the medical cannabis legislation, SB 3:

Patients would be allowed to access cannabis if they have a “debilitating medical condition” such as cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder.

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’ eligibility for the program at least once a year.

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’s double the dispensary cap laid out in the earlier version.

Under the bill, a Compassionate Use Advisory Board would be established, and it could add new qualifying medical conditions.

Separately, a Medical Cannabis Production Commission would be created to ensure that there’s an adequate supply of cannabis for patients, oversee licensing and generate enough revenue to regulate the program.

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.”

There don’t appear to be specific equity provisions that many advocates push for as part of legalization legislation.