North Carolina lawmakers move forward with medical cannabis legislation

North Carolina took another step towards final legalization of medical cannabis on Thursday when members of the state Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation that would authorize the treatment of a variety of diseases and conditions.

According to the News & Observer newspaper, the measure passed the chamber by a vote of 35 to 10.

Now it’s on to the state House of Representatives. Republicans hold a majority in both chambers of the General Assembly. The state’s governor, Roy Cooper, is a Democrat.

The bill, officially known as the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act, would allow medicinal cannabis for individuals with the following qualifying conditions: cancer; Epilepsy; Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive status; Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS); amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); Crohn’s disease; Sickle cell anemia; Parkinson’s disease; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, subject to proof that an applicant has experienced one or more traumatic events; Multiple sclerosis; cachexia or wasting syndrome; Severe or persistent nausea in a person who is not pregnant, related to end-of-life care or hospice care, or who is bedridden or housebound due to a medical condition; an incurable disease if the patient’s remaining life expectancy is less than six months; or a condition that results in the person receiving hospice care.

According to the News & Observer, “Democrats have called for even broader legalization and have made a range of proposals ranging from adding additional diseases to the list of covered conditions to passing broader legislation such as decriminalizing or even legalizing recreational cannabis completely pass. ’, but ‘Republicans have slammed those proposals down.’

According to the News & Observer, eight of the 10 dissenting votes were Republicans, including Senator Jim Burgin, who “cited some of the earlier struggles against tobacco — which remains one of North Carolina’s biggest crops, including in the Burgin County — and implied that the bill is therefore hypocritical.”

“We’ve spent billions of dollars and passed numerous laws to discourage people from smoking,” Burgin said, as quoted by the News & Observer. “We are now voting on a new version of Big Tobacco.”

The bill’s sponsor is GOP State Senator Bill Rabon, who has attempted to allay concerns among his fellow Republicans by arguing that the bill will create the most restrictive medical cannabis law in the United States.

“We believe we did the right thing. We feel that each provision has been well thought out, well laid out and presented to you from start to finish,” Rabon said ahead of Thursday’s vote, as quoted by local TV station WITN.

As quoted by the News & Observer, Rabon said that North Carolina lawmakers “have looked at other states, the good and the bad.”

“And we did, if not perfected, a better job than anyone else,” he said, according to the newspaper.

More than a dozen states have legalized adult recreational marijuana use, and the majority have legalized medicinal cannabis.

But neither is legal in North Carolina, although there is widespread support for both.

A poll in April found that 72% of Tar Heel state voters believe medicinal cannabis should be legal. The same poll found that 57% of North Carolina voters believe recreational cannabis should also be legal.

A spokesman for Cooper, the Democratic Gov., said last year that he would be inclined to support a medical cannabis law then under consideration by North Carolina lawmakers.

“Studies have shown that medical marijuana can offer many benefits to some suffering from chronic conditions, particularly veterans, and the governor is encouraged that North Carolina could join the 36 other states that have approved it for use. The governor will review this bill as it goes through the legislative process,” the spokesman said.

The bill, which passed Thursday’s state Senate, could face a severe test in the state house, where “House Speaker Tim Moore has expressed he will not put it to the vote,” according to WITN.

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