Medical marijuana bill would be a ‘life-changing’ step for NC

Ginny Morse misses life’s small pleasures. Going to the library. Taking a stroll downtown. Volunteering with the Red Cross.

Morse, 69, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1985. Her condition, she says, is debilitating. Due to chronic neuropathic pain, muscle stiffness and spasms, she’s often unable to walk or get a good night’s sleep. Her doctor prescribes opioids for the pain, but those come with their own unwanted side effects, leaving her too drowsy or weak to function.

Only one treatment has ever worked for her: medical marijuana. Before moving to North Carolina in 2018, Morse lived in Massachusetts, where medical cannabis has been legal for nearly a decade.

“It made all the difference in my quality of life,” Morse said.

But when Morse and her husband chose to retire in Cary, that treatment was no longer an option. North Carolina is one of just 13 states that do not allow marijuana use for medicinal purposes. Now, a bill in the North Carolina General Assembly could change that.

Senate Bill 711, the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act, would authorize the use of medical cannabis for a number of conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“People live with this for a lifetime,” Morse said. “And I don’t know if people understand that effect, of a lifetime of this. Every day that you can live without suffering is a better day.”

According to a poll conducted by Elon University earlier this year, 73% of North Carolinians support the legalization of medical marijuana. Democratic lawmakers have pushed to legalize medical marijuana for years, but the bills they introduced never received serious consideration from the Republican-controlled General Assembly. This time, however, the bill has garnered bipartisan support.

“We need to think of this as medicine and not just something to get high. It is a much safer drug than people understand, and I think it is incredibly valuable,” Dawn M. Adams, a state legislator who works as a medical cannabis clinician in Virginia, where medical marijuana was legalized last year. “It crosses and transcends political divides.”

Studies have shown that when used appropriately, cannabis products can help with a slew of conditions: chronic pain and inflammation, muscle stiffness and spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, anxiety for those with PTSD, nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients.

For many of her patients, Adams said, the effects of medical cannabis have been life-changing. In addition to providing much-needed relief, cannabis is also a safe and effective alternative to opioids, which are highly addictive and potentially dangerous. In many states, medical marijuana laws have spurred a drop in opioid prescriptions, as well as fewer opioid overdose deaths. That matters in a state like North Carolina, where the number of unintentional opioid overdose deaths has more than doubled in the past decade.

“Narcotics will kill you. And that is the real problem. Cannabis will not,” Adams said.

SB 711 isn’t a perfect solution. If passed, it would be the most restrictive medical marijuana legislation in the country. It won’t legalize medical marijuana for everyone who needs it, and those who are eligible may face other barriers to access. Still, it is a step, one that is both necessary and long overdue, and it’s probably the best we’re going to get from Republicans in North Carolina right now.

“I’m 69 years old. So we’re running out of time for people,” Morse said. “Our legislators, I know, ask us to be patient because they want to do more research and study more. But we’re running out of time.”

North Carolina has waited long enough to join the overwhelming majority of states where medical marijuana is already legal. We can’t give people back the time they’ve lost, but we can help them make the most of the time they have left. North Carolinians deserve that.

This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 7:01 AM with the headline "Medical marijuana bill would be a ‘life-changing’ step for NC."