What’s needed to make medical marijuana legal in North Carolina

The Compassionate Care Act passed the North Carolina Senate for the third time in three years. It would provide for the sale of cannabis and cannabis-infused products to qualified patients with a debilitating medical condition through a regulated medical cannabis supply system. However, the bill continues to stall in the House.

In addition, a recent Supreme Court ruling is impacting the path to rescheduling cannabis as a Schedule III substance. Rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance would, among other things, acknowledge its medical use. That would translate to a small but significant step in legalizing it in North Carolina.

When the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians opened the only dispensary for medical marijuana in North Carolina back in April, many Charlotte hemp business owners expressed a renewed sense of optimism for the legal use of medical marijuana.

However, Natacha Andrews, the CEO of Charlotte-based National Association of Black Cannabis Lawyers, pointed out that it can operate here because it is independent of state law.

“That seems rather hypocritical for us to say, ‘Look what we did in North Carolina,’ because we didn’t do this,” Andrews said. “It’s a sovereign nation. So, they have the absolute right to do that.”