NC bill would legalize marijuana use, possession. But we’ve seen this before.

Senate Bill 765 was submitted by Sen. Toby Fitch, D-Wilson.

At 69 pages, it is more in-depth than a similar cannabis-legalization proposal from 2021, House Bill 617, That 19-page bill was introduced in April 2021 with Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, as one of four primary sponsors and Rep. Amber Baker, D-Forsyth, as one of 13 co-sponsors.

HB617 was sent to the House Rules and Operations committee, where it was shelved for the 2021 session.

The latest bid by lawmakers to legalize cannabis is likely to face a similar fate given stiff Republican leadership opposition in North Carolina.

North Carolina is one of six states where all uses of marijuana are illegal, along with Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, South Carolina and Wyoming. That includes prohibiting the use of medical marijuana.

Inside the bill

The main focus of the latest cannabis proposal is the sale, possession and use of marijuana, although a section covers the legal use of industrial hemp.

Individuals age 21 and older could possess up to two ounces of marijuana.

Anyone who possesses more than two ounces in a public setting could be subject to a civil penalty of up to $25.

However, anyone possessing more than one pound of marijuana could be found guilty of a Class F felony and face a fine of up to $250,000.

It would be unlawful for anyone to sell or provide marijuana products to people under age 21. It would be illegal to transport marijuana in an open container or for a driver or passengers to consume marijuana while in a moving vehicle.

The bill includes deals with how retail marijuana would be sold, including warning labels on packaging about health effects, as well as marketing restrictions.

The bill has language addressing the use and manufacturing of edible marijuana products.

It calls for a Cannabis Equity Business Loan fund to support retail marijuana vendors, along with allowing financial institutions to provide financial services for those vendors.

At-home marijuana

The bill would allow anyone 21 or older to grow up to two mature marijuana plants and up to two immature marijuana plants “for personal use at their place of residence.”

The plants would have to be cultivated indoors and not be visible to the public without the use of aircraft, binoculars or other optical aids.

Each mature and immature plant would be required to have a legible tag that includes the owner’s name, driver’s license or identification number, and a notation that the marijuana is being grown for personal use at home.

Anyone found guilty of violating those regulations could be subject to a Class 1 felony.

There’s also a section on how law enforcement officers would enforce the law’s provisions.

The bill would create a state Cannabis Control Commission that would oversee “a uniform system of control over the sale, purchase, transportation, manufacture, consumption and possession of marijuana in North Carolina, and to provide procedures to insure the proper administration of the marijuana laws under a uniform system throughout the state.”

The commission would have a chief executive, board of directors and employees with the N.C. Department of Public Safety.

The commission’s authority would supersede any local ordinance or resolution regulating retail marijuana or retail marijuana products, including licensure, inspections, manufacturing and testing.

There also would be a Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council.

The bill would contain a 21% state tax on any retail marijuana, retail marijuana products, marijuana paraphernalia and any non-retail marijuana and associated products.

There would be exceptions to the tax, including on cannabis oil for treatment as allowed by state law.

Local municipalities could apply up to an additional 3% tax on marijuana products.

Medical marijuana

Fitch’s bill may represent an attempt to link legalization to a medical marijuana bill, Senate Bill 711, that cleared three Senate committees during the 2021 session before stalling in August.

Legislative analysts are uncertain whether SB711 will be heard during the short session that is projected to end in early July.

Senate Bill 711, which would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, is stuck in the gateway Rules and Operations committee in August. It is likely to resurface early in the 2022 session.

SB711 is the latest in several attempts over the past 12 years to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes in North Carolina.

The bill’s odds of clearing the Senate are considered promising given that Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, and chairman of Rules committee, is one of its three primary sponsors.

Rabon, a cancer survivor, has said SB711 would not serve as a gateway to recreational marijuana use, although opponents that include Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, claim that it will.

The bill requires the medical marijuana system be self-sustaining following an initial public investment to set up the system.