Why did North Carolina House Republicans choose not to legalize medicinal cannabis?
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Republicans in the North Carolina House of Representatives decided yesterday (June 23) not to legalize medicinal cannabis, which had already passed the state Senate, Axios reported. According to confidential sources, Republicans voted after an internal caucus vote.
What happened: House Speaker Tim Moore (R) was one of the key lawmakers to scrap the idea of legalizing medicinal cannabis this year. “I’m very confident that next year the Republicans will have a supermajority. When I say next year, I mean in six months. We can deal with that,” he said.
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Additionally, the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act was approved by the state Senate as a measure that would have allowed cannabis with higher THC levels to treat cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder, HIV, AIDS and Crohn’s disease.
Senator Bill Rabon’s (R) Legislature cleared the State Senate earlier this month in a strongly bipartisan vote.
“I think this law will help a lot of people at the end of their lives at a time when they need some compassion,” said Rabon, who co-sponsored it. “We looked at other states, the good and the bad (…) and we did, if not perfected, at least a better job than anyone else so far.”
However, the bill would not decriminalize recreational cannabis.
This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.
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