North Carolina Lawmakers File Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill

Medical cannabis products would be regulated by a newly created Medical Cannabis Production Commission. The agency would be responsible for licensing cannabis businesses and ensuring an adequate supply of medical cannabis is produced for patients.

The bill authorizes up to 10 medical cannabis suppliers to cultivate and distribute licensed medical marijuana products. Each supplier would be permitted to operate as many as eight dispensaries, which would be known as “medical cannabis centers.”

The measure also establishes the North Carolina Cannabis Research Program to “undertake objective, scientific research regarding the administration of cannabis or cannabis-infused products as part of medical treatment.”

The legislation is similar to a 2023 bill of the same name from Republican Sen. Bill Rabon. That measure gained the approval of the North Carolina Senate but never came up for a vote in the state House of Representatives. Last year, the Senate approved a separate measure to legalize medical cannabis, but it also failed to garner a vote in the House.

Medical Cannabis Legalization Popular With North Carolina Voters

Earlier this year, the findings of a survey from Meredith Poll found strong support among registered voters for legalizing medical marijuana in North Carolina. According to the poll, 71% of North Carolinians “strongly” or “somewhat” support legalizing medical cannabis, while only 23% “strongly” or “somewhat” said they oppose the policy reform.

“We hear about it all the time. There’s broad support across political parties. People want it taxed. They want the money, and they want it regulated,” Democratic Sen. Graig Meyer told WDTV television news at the time. “They want to know we’re doing it in a safe way, especially that protects kids.”

Meyer voted in favor of the 2023 version of the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act in the Senate, where it received bipartisan support. Despite the issue’s popularity, however, medical cannabis legalization bills have failed to gain the support of key Republican leaders in the House of Representatives.

“Everyone knows if you put a marijuana bill on the floor of either chamber, you’ve got enough votes to pass it,” Meyer said. “The question is, can you get over the objections of a few powerful people that are standing in the way and that dynamic still exists in the House.”

House Bill 1011 has been referred to the Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations of the House for consideration. If the bill is passed into law, North Carolina will join the 39 other states that legalized medical cannabis.

At least three other cannabis policy reform bills are also pending in the North Carolina legislature, including House Bill 984, which would legalize medical cannabis only for patients in a registered research program. Senate Bill 350 would legalize both recreational and medical marijuana, while House Bill 413 would legalize recreational cannabis.