Medical marijuana bill advances in NC Senate. What’s needed for it to become law?

The North Carolina Senate keeps advancing a bill that would legalize medical marijuana here, as the state remains one of the few holdouts in the country without such a law.

Senators in the Finance Committee passed the bill Wednesday, after a brief discussion about the taxes and other revenues it might bring to North Carolina if passed. No one had a solid estimate, but based on other states, it would likely bring in tens of millions of dollars a year.

For example, the News & Observer previously reported that Michigan made $45 million from medical marijuana last. It has similar tax structures as what North Carolina is proposing, and around the same size population.

Some members of the public came to the General Assembly Wednesday to tell lawmakers to charge companies even more money than the bill proposes to get licensed to sell marijuana here, to make more money. Others said the opposite, fearing that if costs get too high at dispensaries, people would just go back to buying weed from drug dealers instead of the official channels.

In the end the lawmakers didn’t heed either side, and kept the tax and fee numbers the same.

Supporters and opponents

To opponents of the bill, marijuana is so dangerous that letting doctors prescribe it to their patients, even in limited circumstances, is not worth the millions of dollars it would bring to the state.

“The social cost ... will far exceed any amount we might make in revenues,” said Rev. Mark Creech, leader of the Christian Action League, during Wednesday’s hearing.

The bill’s main sponsor, Republican Sen. Bill Rabon of New Brunswick County, said he has been working with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to get their advice for public health issues.

“We met with DHHS, and they had some very good ideas we’re going to be incorporating,” he said.

Creech and other conservative Christian leaders who oppose the bill are in a small minority. An Elon University poll earlier this year found that nearly three in every four North Carolinians would support medical marijuana — and even a slim majority would support full legalization.

This legislation, SB 711, would not fully legalize marijuana. And its GOP sponsors have tried to recognize the concerns of opponents. They have said at every hearing the bill has gotten at the legislature so far that they purposefully wrote it so that, if passed into law, North Carolina would have the strictest rules governing medical marijuana in the country.

There would be a smaller list of medical ailments that doctors could prescribe it for than in many other states, and there would be strict regulations on how companies are allowed to grow, advertise and sell marijuana should it become legal for doctors to prescribe.

Next steps for medical marijuana bill

With Wednesday’s vote in the books, the bill has now passed two of the four committees it needs to clear before it can go up for an official vote on the Senate floor — which could happen within days or weeks.

The only hurdles remaining are the Senate’s committees on health care and rules. One of the bill’s sponsors, Republican Sen. Michael Lee, is on the health care committee, and Rabon, the main sponsor, is the chairman of the rules committee.

Given that and the fact that the bill has so far seemed to win unanimous or near-unanimous support in committee so far, it appears headed to a vote on the Senate floor soon, pending a sudden revolt in the Republican caucus.

Even if it passes the Senate that’s not the end, however. It would next have to repeat the process in the House of Representatives, where that chamber’s Republican majority might support it, might oppose it or might make some tweaks.

Democrats in both chambers support the bill, although some say it shouldn’t be as strict as the Republicans backing it want. Some Democratic lawmakers have argued for full legalization, like Virginia just did in addition to another handful of states, while others haven’t pushed for full legalization but have asked — so far in vain — for the list of medical ailments to be expanded to include things like chronic pain or migraines.

The proposed list currently includes just a handful of medical issues, including cancer, PTSD, sickle cell anemia and more.

For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at link.chtbl.com/underthedomenc or wherever you get your podcasts.

Under the Dome

On The News & Observer's Under the Dome podcast, we’re unpacking legislation and issues that matter, keeping you updated on what’s happening in North Carolina politics twice a week on Monday and Friday mornings. Check us out here and sign up for our weekly Under the Dome newsletter for more political news.