Medical marijuana on verge of passing NC Senate. Here’s what is (and isn’t) in the bill
Despite opposition from two conservative Christian advocacy groups, North Carolina’s medical marijuana bill passed through a key committee in the state Senate on Wednesday — setting up a vote on the bill as soon as Thursday.
Senate Bill 711 is expected to pass the full Senate, especially after Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters Tuesday that he plans to vote in favor of the bill. The bill’s lead sponsors are two Republicans and a Democrat, and it passed the committee Wednesday with bipartisan support.
Sen. Bill Rabon, a Republican from Brunswick County and the bill’s lead sponsor, has previously said he was inspired to push for medical marijuana because of his own experience with cancer.
The bill has been public at the legislature for more than a year now, undergoing changes as it passed through committees. Most states have already passed medical marijuana laws, and Rabon has said it’s been his goal to study them all, find the best and worst parts of what each state has done differently, and craft North Carolina’s laws accordingly.
“It is my opinion that no state has done it as well as we are attempting to do it ... following the model of other states or talking to other states to see what they did wrong, and trying to amend those pitfalls,” he said.
His intent, he said, was to write a bill that could help patients who are suffering from serious ailments — while still having strict rules that prevent people from getting marijuana if they don’t really need it for medical use.
For instance, Rabon said, patients will be limited to a 30-day supply of marijuana at any given time, which is far less than what patients have been able to get with a prescription for painkillers. Many proponents of medical marijuana have touted its use as an alternative to opioids, including Democratic Sen. Paul Lowe, a Winston-Salem pastor who is another sponsor of the bill.
“In our system of medicine, all kinds of things have been used,” Lowe said. “One of the things that has been used is opiates, which are extremely dangerous. ... I think cannabis is much safer, and I think that it is something that will help our citizens.”
Medical conditions
There are 15 medical conditions covered by the bill. A few are fairly broad while others are highly specific. Some of the major ones include:
▪ Cancer
▪ PTSD
▪ Anyone in hospice, or with a terminal diagnosis
▪ Epilepsy
▪ Crohn’s disease
▪ Parkinson’s disease
▪ Sickle cell anemia
There are other conditions that, while covered in some other states, are not covered by the current version of North Carolina’s bill.
Those include:
▪ Glaucoma
▪ Anxiety
▪ Chronic pain
▪ Opioid addiction
Polling on medical marijuana
Two Christian groups, the Family Policy Council and Christian Action League, both had representatives at the meeting to speak out against the bill. They said there is little research into the medical uses of marijuana, but that there is more research about its potential negative effects.
“At this point in time, the research clearly shows that the harms and costs to individuals, families and the state gravely outweigh any potential benefits,” said Jere Royall of the Family Policy Council.
The opponents weren’t able to sway the committee, though, and Rabon said Wednesday that polling shows more than 80% of North Carolinians support medical marijuana, including more than 70% of Republicans and more than 70% of evangelical Christians.
Sen. Toby Fitch, a Democrat from Wilson who is a retired judge, said he didn’t think the bill was perfect but that he still supported it. That same sentiment was echoed by many on Wednesday, including lawmakers and members of the public who came to speak.
Pat Oglesby, a Chapel Hill attorney whose group Center For New Revenue focuses on the tax implications of marijuana laws around the country, urged lawmakers to consider changing up some of the financial pieces of the bill — including losing the part that would allow for private dispensaries, and instead have the state run them, like it does with ABC stores for liquor.
Sen. Joyce Waddell, a Democrat from southeastern Mecklenburg County, had some concerns about the bill’s language about who can qualify to grow marijuana if it’s approved here. She said she has been approached by constituents who are concerned small farmers will be squeezed out under the proposed rules. But one of the sponsors, Wilmington Republican Sen. Michael Lee, told her that the bill has high barriers to entry in part to ensure the medical marijuana that would hit the market is of a high and consistent quality.
“This is an expensive operation,” Lee said. “So you want to make sure that the licensees have the ability to produce a product that is of the quality that you would expect, for a physician to write a recommendation for.”
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This story was originally published June 1, 2022 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Medical marijuana on verge of passing NC Senate. Here’s what is (and isn’t) in the bill."
