North Carolina Senate approves plans to legalize medical cannabis and hemp

The North Carolina Senate voted last Thursday in favor of legalizing medical cannabis. The measure still has to be approved by the House of Representatives before being sent to the governor.

Eight Republicans and two Democrats, including Senator Don Davis, a candidate for Congress in the state's first district, opposed the bill.

The NC Compassionate Care Act would authorize medical cannabis for a limited list of conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder, HIV, AIDS and Crohn's disease. Chronic pain and anxiety are not included in the bill, which would be one of the strictest in the country.

A survey published last week by Carolina Partnership for Reform, a conservative group, revealed that 82 % of those surveyed supported the reforms. The group said it was «surprised» by the support, which included 75 % of Republicans, 87 % of unaffiliated voters, 86 % of Democrats, at least 78 % of men and women, white and black North Carolinians, liberals, moderates and conservatives. The poll found that 77 % of evangelical voters supported the reforms.

Meanwhile, the North Carolina Senate last week unanimously passed a measure that will permanently legalize hemp in the state, defining it as having less than 0.3% delta-9 THC and excluding it from the state's list of controlled substances. State lawmakers had temporarily legalized hemp in 2015 under a pilot program that expires at the end of June.

Republican Senator Brent Jackson said the bill «essentially just confirms hemp laws with federal models.» The Farm Bill of 2018 legalized hemp on a national scale, but left it up to the states to draw up their own rules and regulations within the limits of the federal statute.