SB 711, which has now passed three senate committees, most likely won’t get a floor vote until the beginning of next session in 2022. The current session ended September 16. According to the North Carolina Senate President, Phil Berger, R, the wording surrounding medical cannabis still needs to be decided upon. “We continue to need to look at the wording of the bill, experiences that other states have had,” the senator said.
Additionally, one of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Paul Lowe, D, also spoke about the bill and its current state. “There’s far more moving parts to this thing than I thought there was when we began,” he said. “We want to make sure we get it right.”
A big concern lawmakers have is how a medical cannabis program would fit with the potential for a recreational cannabis market. “A lot of other states legalized medical marijuana and then they legalized adult use and the two regulatory regimes did not mesh,” Senator Lowe said. “If North Carolina does go forward with medical marijuana, I want to make sure that it does so in the smartest, most protective way possible.”
Medical Cannabis
Under SB 711, very few patients would qualify for medical cannabis. Only those with ‘debilitating medical conditions’ could use medical cannabis. Those are:
- Cancer
- Epilepsy
- HIV/AIDS
- Parkinson’s Disease
- MS
Additionally, there would be a limited time patients could purchase cannabis from licensed dispensaries. Locations will remain limited, especially those close to churches or schools. Finally, only 10 licenses would be granted to suppliers. Medical cannabis centers will only receive four licenses. This will create a very niche market which can easily become contained by the state without much concern for a black market, according to lawmakers.
Next Steps
Because the session ended, SB 711 has been deemed a dead bill. It will need to be reintroduced next year at the beginning of the session. Until then, North Carolina lawmakers may work behind the scenes to get the medical cannabis language correct. Should any new information become available, we will update you with the latest.
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