North Carolina Medical Cannabis Bill Expected to be Dead by 2023

A bill that would legalize medical marijuana in North Carolina is likely dead for the 2023 legislative session, House Speaker Tim Moore said Tuesday.

Though he supports bipartisan legislation, Moore said the bill, which passed the North Carolina state Senate in March, does not have the support of enough Republican-majority members in the House of Representatives to move forward. Under House Republican Committee rules, bills put to the vote must already have the support of a majority of its members, even if Democrat support makes it likely that the measure will pass without a Republican majority on board is.

Adhering to the Republican faction rule “would require a number of members of the House who have taken a no position to literally change their position to want to vote for it, and I just don’t think that’s going to happen,” said Moore. according to a report by the Associated Press.

After discussing the legislation with members of the Republican caucus, Moore said he agreed with recent public statements by House Majority Leader John Bell, who said there was not enough support for the bill to move this session forward.

On Tuesday, Bell told Spectrum News that it suspects the legalization issue will come up during next year’s legislative session, which is expected to begin in May.

“There’s passion on both sides,” Bell said. “We have members of our group who support it 100% and we have other members who oppose it 100%.”

But supporters of the law are not ready to give up. Democratic Sen. Paul Lowe, another major sponsor of the medical marijuana legalization bill, told the Raleigh News & Observer that the bill is “by no means” “dead.”

Lowe said talks with the House Speaker and other members of the Republican leadership team are “underway” and that he feels “pretty good” about them.

“I think there are some members of his group who are reassessing and looking at things and I think they will prevail,” he said, without naming specific lawmakers. Revealing their names, he said, “would undo what I’m trying to do.”

“If we don’t finish it in the long session, we will take care of it in the short session next year,” he said. “I’m pretty confident about that.”

Bill legalizes MMJ for patients with qualifying conditions

The measure, the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act (Senate Bill 3), was introduced in January with the support of Republican Senators Bill Rabon and Michael Lee and Lowe, her Democratic counterpart. If passed, the bill would legalize the medical use of cannabis for patients with one or more specific serious medical conditions, such as cancer, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and others. However, unlike the broader medical marijuana programs in many other states, the bill does not allow medical marijuana use by patients with chronic pain.

Supporters of the bill point out that the measure will not legalize recreational marijuana use. Instead, the intent of the legislation is “only to make changes to existing state law necessary to protect patients and their physicians from criminal and civil penalties, and has no intent to amend current civil and criminal laws governing the use of.” non-medical marijuana.” Rabon told reporters when the bill was under Senate consideration earlier this year.

According to the law, patients with a qualifying “disabling medical condition” should be allowed access to medicinal cannabis. The bill would allow medical cannabis to be smoked and vaped by patients whose doctors have recommended a specific form and dosage of medical marijuana. Physicians would have to review annually whether a patient remains eligible for the medical marijuana program.

To participate in the program, patients would need to obtain a state medical marijuana ID card. The state’s Department of Health and Human Services would be tasked with creating “a secure, confidential electronic database of information on qualified patients, certain nurses and physicians,” according to the text of the measure.

The Senate passed a bill in March

The bill passed the North Carolina Senate on March 1 with an overwhelming bipartisan majority and has been sent to the state House of Representatives. The bill was heard by the House Health Committee in May, but the bill has not been considered in the chamber since.

Late last month, Rabon attempted to force action on the bill by appending an amendment to an independent bill supported by House Republicans that would delay passage of the bill until the medical marijuana bill is approved. The Senate approved the change and returned the largely technical legislation to the House of Representatives, where it awaits further action.

State Senator Julie Mayfield, one of seven Democratic senators supporting a bill legalizing adult recreational marijuana, said she believes the medical marijuana bill should go to the House of Representatives for a vote.

“It’s about time North Carolina legalized the medicinal use of cannabis,” Mayfield said in a statement to local media. “It has helped many, many people, and it is time to allow people who need it to acquire and use it with dignity and without fear.” The bill would pass with overwhelming support from Democrats if Speaker Moore would only allow one vote. It is time to make democracy work.”