| In case you missed it, North Carolina Senate lawmakers made moves last week toward becoming the 38th state to legalize cannabis for medical use.
The NC Compassionate Care Act was approved on a second reading in a 35-10 vote with 17 Republicans casting “ayes” in the GOP-controlled chamber, further implicating that cannabis legalization is not a bipartisan issue in today’s public policy environment.
“We have looked at other states, the good and the bad,” said Republican Sen. Bill Rabon, one of the legislation’s primary sponsors. “And we have, if not perfected, we have done a better job than anyone so far.”
From Rabon’s viewpoint, doing a better job than anyone so far means implementing one of the “strictest” medical cannabis programs in the country. Get the entire skinny below, from the reporting of Cannabis Business Times Senior Digital Editor Melissa Schiller.
Beginning with the passage of California’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (Proposition 215), one state after the next has continued to show compassion for those suffering from debilitating conditions over the past quarter century. Most recently, Mississippi, one of the least progressive states in the nation, became the 37th state to legalize a medical cannabis program without strict THC restrictions when Republican Gov. Tate Reeves provided his signature in February.
With more than 90% of Americans in support of medical cannabis legalization in recent polls, much of the debate among lawmakers no longer revolves around whether providing relief to those who need it is the right thing to do. Instead, program implementation and public safety are top points of deliberation.
Exclusion of small farmers, including those in the federally legal hemp industry, is one key reservation under North Carolina’s proposal.
-Tony Lange, Associate Editor | 
