Here’s why North Carolina is next to legalize marijuana
Through
With the GOP-controlled North Carolina Legislature back in full swing, a bill legalizing medical marijuana is moving ahead faster than many expected.
The NC Compassionate Care Act, sponsored by Senate Chief Republican and Rules Committee Chair Senator Bill Rabon, was heard in committee on Wednesday and will now go to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.
The move comes after the bill sat in Rabon’s committee for months last year, most likely because it didn’t get the support of some Republicans, but things have changed.
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Program is among the most rigorous in the country
The bill would authorize one of the strictest MMJ programs in the country if signed into law, though Rabon said they did their best
“In my opinion, no state has done as well as we are trying to,” Rabon told his colleagues ahead of the committee’s vote. He called the law the “toughest and best written” cannabis legislation of any state.
What is inside?
The bill would allow medicinal use of cannabis for a narrow list of conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder, HIV, AIDS and Crohn’s disease. Chronic pain and anxiety aren’t included, and the bill won’t decriminalize recreational cannabis.
Why it matters
North Carolina is one of the few US states that hasn’t licensed any form of medical marijuana. And with one of the state’s most powerful Republicans, Bill Rabon, leading the legalization effort, the issue no longer appears to be viewed as a political burden among conservatives, Axios Raleigh pointed out.
“All the polls we’ve seen indicate that medical marijuana has support across party lines,” Dylan Watts, Republican political director in the state Senate, said per Axios. “The issue seems to have become almost desensitized in all population groups.”
RELATED: North Carolina: Medical marijuana wins near-unanimous approval in GOP-controlled General Assembly
But of course, the bill would still have to pass through the House before it reaches Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has not confirmed he would sign it.
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What do voters want?
In a poll commissioned by the Carolina Partnership for Reform, 82% of respondents said they support legal medical marijuana.
“At this point, it seems pretty clear that it’s only a matter of time before medical and recreational marijuana use is legalized in North Carolina,” the group wrote when it recently released the findings.
RELATED: 10 red states turning green in 2022
Floor action is already expected on Thursday. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R) recently told reporters that he intends to vote in favor of the law.
Closed deal? It’s starting to look like this.
This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.
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