North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein says a panel he's tasked with recommending cannabis sale regulations — including potential legalization of adult use of marijuana — should aim to provide a structure in a state where products now from otherwise lawful hemp are unregulated and leave young people unprotected.
The Democratic governor signed an executive order this week creating a State Advisory Council on Cannabis.
North Carolina is among a small number of states whose laws prohibit marijuana for both medicinal use or adult recreational use. The General Assembly would have to enact any law legalizing marijuana. The council's findings could add pressure upon lawmakers to place regulations on products, many of which can be obtained at vape and convenience stores.
The order directs the 24-member council also named this week to offer preliminary recommendations for a "comprehensive cannabis policy" and any proposed legislation by next March 15, with final recommendations by the end of 2026.
Council members include representatives of state agencies, law enforcement, legislators and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, whose dispensary on tribal land has sold since last year marijuana and cannabis products to any adult over 21.
"Let's work together on a thoughtful, comprehensive solution that allows sales to adults and that is grounded in public safety and health." Stein said Wednesday in a news release. "We can work together and get this right."
Hemp is actually a lawful form of cannabis in the state based on its low levels of THC, the chemical that in larger amounts makes people high. Consumable products made from hemp promote CBD, the non-psychoactive chemical within it.
But Stein, the former attorney general, says some in the hemp product industry have found ways to extract enough THC from hemp so that their offerings also provide the high of marijuana. He said this has led to an unregulated "Wild West" cannabis market in which anyone, including children, can purchase products with "intoxicating THC."
In an interview with WRAL-TV on Tuesday, Stein said that he personally supports legalizing adult recreational use of marijuana and other intoxicating THC products, and believes a structure can be put in place that simultaneously keeps them away from children.
"I believe adults should be able to choose what they want to do, but they need to have information," Stein said. "They need to be protected."
Legislation that would authorize medical marijuana have cleared the Senate in the recent past occasions but have failed to pass the House.
Council members include Republican state Sen. Bill Rabon and GOP Rep. John Bell. Rabon has championed medical marijuana legalization at the General Assembly, while Bell is an executive at a manufacturer of CBD and hemp-based products and who has called for stricter industry regulation.
Stein said Wednesday the council should propose developing a regulatory system that "allows adult sales, ensures public safety, promotes public health, supports North Carolina agriculture, expunges past convictions of simple THC possession, and invests the revenues in resources for addiction, mental health, and drugged driving detection." The order says recommendations also should consider taxation.
For now, Stein said, the General Assembly should pass laws prohibiting sales of products with intoxicating THC to anyone under 2021 and set packaging standards.
Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia allow the medical use of cannabis products, while about half of the states and D.C. have legalized small amounts of cannabis for adult recreational use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
