NC Senate passes medical marijuana; legislation faces uncertain future as it heads to the House

On a 36-10 vote, the North Carolina Senate passed sweeping legislation Monday evening that would allow for the use of medical marijuana while strictly regulating hemp-derived consumables.

Senator Tom McInnis (R- Cumberland, Moore ) said he had no doubt that the bill sponsor was well-intended in bringing forward House Bill 563, but he could not support a bill that his local sheriff adamantly opposed.

“I looked further into the bill and the last thing it says under issues that can be treated, it says, and any other serious medical condition or its treatment added by the Compassionate Use Advisory Board,” said McInnis. “Any condition, ladies and gentlemen, is fair game for treatment under this bill as it is written. Paralysis, gonorrhea, broken heart, anything that that group says is going to be okay.”

McInnis argued that HB 563 was a precursor to the legalization of recreational marijuana.

Bill sponsor Senator Bill Rabon (R- Brunswick) followed with an amendment stating that if marijuana is rescheduled or deleted as a controlled substance under federal law, it cannot be made legal for recreational use at the state level unless approved by the North Carolina General Assembly.

While several senate democrats worried about the carve out provision, the amendment passed 26-20.

Still, Sen. Norm Sanderson (R-Carteret) urged his colleagues not to go down this slippery slope.