North Carolina House Minority Leader Robert Reives (D) indicated on Tuesday that the new Democratic majority in the chamber will likely take up a medical cannabis legalization bill next year, The News & Observer reports. Reives is running for House speaker with the Democratic Party’s backing. North Carolina is one of just a few states that have not legalized cannabis for any purpose.
During a press conference, Reives told reporters that House Democrats have “always been interested in” medical cannabis legalization. He added that “decriminalization of marijuana is on top of everybody’s mind.”
The comments come as Democrats prepare to take control of the House chamber. The Republican-controlled Senate has previously passed medical cannabis legalization bills. Those bills have never been considered by the House, which has also been under Republican control.
Reives’s remarks suggest a shift in the chamber’s posture toward cannabis policy. The next step would come when the new legislature convenes next year.
Reives is the top Democrat in the state House. His bid for speaker is backed by the Democratic Party.
Reives indicated that he would not support a bill “picking winners and losers in the industry.” The comment alluded to previous proposals in the state that would have legalized medical cannabis but limited industry participation to just a few companies.
Previous legislation that passed the Senate was sponsored by Senate Rules Committee Chairman Bill Rabon (R). That bill would have allowed companies to be vertically integrated and imposed dispensary caps.
He emphasized the role of the state’s agricultural sector.
“It is an industry just like any other industry, and so if we authorize it, it should be authorized in such a way that our farmers, (with) agriculture still our top industry, that all of them have an opportunity to make that decision to be involved in (the) process),” Reives said during a press conference, via The News & Observer.
The statement signals that any House bill may differ from the Senate’s earlier approach.
The Senate has demonstrated support for medical cannabis by passing legalization bills in previous sessions. The House has been the obstacle, declining to take up those measures.
With Democrats gaining a majority in the House, that dynamic could change next year. Reives’s comments are the clearest signal yet that the chamber will act.
Any bill would still need to pass both chambers. The Senate’s prior bills included vertical integration and dispensary caps, provisions Reives appears unlikely to accept.
Lawmakers would need to reconcile those differences for a bill to reach the governor.
Reives made his remarks at a press conference covered by The News & Observer.
Operator Warns Legalization Alone Is Not Enough In an op-ed published by Marijuana Moment, Perlow argued that lawmakers must act…
Market Projection Details Australia's medical cannabis market is predicted to exceed USD 2.67 billion by 2035, according to a recent…
Oklahoma Official Testifies Before North Carolina Panel Lt. Col. Mitch Smith with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs…
Cannabis Cultivators Eye Data Center Conversions Struggling cannabis farmers are considering selling their cultivation facilities or converting them into "mini…
Cannabis Money Backed Losing Candidates Nearly every Republican member of Congress whose reelection campaign was supported by marijuana industry donations…
Medical Marijuana Protections Extended The Senate Appropriations Committee is proposing to continue a rider in federal law that shields state…
