The North Carolina Senate wants to ban some hemp products and prohibit the sale of certain THC drinks and gummies to anyone younger than the age of 21 — a proposal that could set up a fight with the House, which passed a more limited measure earlier in the legislative session.
Two Senate committees passed the new proposal Tuesday morning, fast-tracking the legislation as lawmakers prepare to adjourn before the end of the month, likely without a budget agreement. It has been sent to the judiciary committee.
The bill garnered bipartisan support, including from Democratic state Attorney General Jeff Jackson, who attended the hearing and spoke in support of the measure.
“This is long overdue,” Jackson said, adding that it has been a major theme of feedback he’s gotten since being sworn in as AG. “It usually happens when a family learns that it is truly the Wild West, at least in terms of what children are allowed to buy.”
Earlier this session, the House passed House Bill 328, which prohibited the use of Delta 8 and Delta 9 products on school grounds in a two-page bill. The Senate rewrote that bill, but did keep the school grounds portion of the proposal.
“This is not a bill that was written by the cannabinoid industry for the benefit of the cannabinoid industry,” said Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance. “This bill was written with public good front and center, and we’re going to make sure that what is being sold in our communities have no toxins, no synthetics and keep these products out of the possession of minors.”
House Majority Leader John Bell is the president of a company that produces hemp and CBD products. Rep. Carla Cunningham, D-Mecklenburg, said she proposed the House bill because of the products’ impacts on children, who were using them at school.
“We needed something in place to protect the children and to put something in place within the school so that they can’t have it all over the campuses because we really don’t know the long-term effects yet,” Cunningham said.
Galey said she wasn’t part of writing the House bill and isn’t sure who House lawmakers talked to when putting it together.
“I can look at the results of it, and I do not think that the House bill is as strong as the Senate bill in protecting children and the public in North Carolina,” Galey said.
Bell’s office didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, said members of his chamber have been working on the issue for years. He said he didn’t know the specifics of the Senate proposal.
“I understand that one has a lot of regulations in it on that industry,” Hall said. “We’ll just have to look at it when it comes over here, but, but I think, as a general matter, we want to do something about underage people getting a hold of that stuff.
He added: “It is certainly a big issue in the state and getting larger. Hear from a lot of parents of younger kids who are going out and getting this stuff. So we need to do something at least as to minors.”
Under the Senate bill, businesses would have to be licensed to sell the products, which would have limits on the amount of Delta 9 present and would have to be tested. The bill would also require changes to packaging, including certain information on the labels and no characters designed to appeal to children.
Alcohol Law Enforcement would be responsible for enforcement of the new provisions at the producer, distributor, licensing and retail levels. Violations would result in stiff fines and then suspension and eventual revocation of retail licenses.
Jackson said the Department of Justice has been meeting with ALE in anticipation of legislation. “They are very well positioned to move on this,” Jackson said.
Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, which is illegal in North Carolina. Hemp and marijuana both contain THC, but hemp is legal in the state because it contains THC at far lower levels than marijuana does — enough to impart some side-effects that users seek out, but not enough to get people high.
But some growers have figured out how to extract THC from hemp plants and introduce products into the marketplace touting the legal substance they do contain — cannabidiol, or CBD — but may possess enough THC to get someone high.
Hemp is a cannabis product with 0.3% or less THC, which is the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Delta 8 THC is found in trace amounts in marijuana and hemp, but can be altered to increase its potency. Delta 9 is what makes users feel high. It is more powerful than Delta 8 and is more prevalent in marijuana, WRAL previously reported.
A WRAL investigation in 2023 found that products sold at convenience stores include Delta 8 and Delta 9 and test similar to marijuana.
Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, recently launched a cannabis task force to regulate THC and study pot legalization in North Carolina.
“It’s really ironic that, in some ways, the most liberal, pro-marijuana adult-use state in the country is North Carolina,” Stein said in a recent interview with WRAL. “It’s not Colorado. It’s not Massachusetts. It’s not these states that legalized it and then created a regulatory structure to sell it. It’s North Carolina, where we have no rules whatsoever.”
Stein has said the state would benefit from a cannabis regulating agency — similar to how the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control System controls the sale of liquor and requires bottles to list alcohol content and ingredients.
Children have had to be taken to the emergency room after confusing THC gummies for typical candies.
North Carolina votes say they want state lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana, which has been a sticking point between the GOP-led House and Senate for years. The Senate has passed legalization bills in each of the last three years. In a WRAL News poll, 70% of respondents said they favor legalization of medical marijuana.
Two Semate committees passed the proposal on Tuesday morning. It comes after the House passed a more limited measure with no opposition. Read More
