A bill to legalize medical marijuana — which the North Carolina Senate has passed twice in the past two years — is finally getting some attention in the Republican-controlled state House. The House Health Committee plans to debate the bill Tuesday morning — an important sign of life for the bill after being ignored last year despite its broad bipartisan support in the Senate. Simply scheduling the debate could indicate the bill has a chance at becoming law this year. Senate Bill 3 would make North Carolina the 39th state in the country to let people use pot for approved medical conditions. It passed the Senate in March, 36-10.
Its lead sponsor, Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, has said that if North Carolina does legalize marijuana using his plan, the rules here would be the strictest of any of those 39 states. That’s a nod to the social conservatives who strongly oppose the bill and say it would be just the first step toward fully legalizing marijuana for anyone.
Rabon has pushed hard against that narrative in part by consistently shooting down proposals from Democratic lawmakers who want to expand the list of approved medical ailments.
Advocates typically don’t claim marijuana can cure diseases, but they do say it can help treat pain, nausea and anxiety.
If this bill becomes law, doctors could prescribe it for patients with cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson’s disease and sickle cell anemia, among other ailments. Kept off that list are issues like chronic pain or glaucoma. The bill’s sponsors have said those are too vague and have been used as a loophole in other states to open up the legal use of medical marijuana to too many people.
Skeptics and opponents point to the fact that, because marijuana is still illegal federally, there have been few scientific studies done on its health benefits or risks. Christian conservative groups also cite the same moral concerns to oppose medical marijuana that also see them regularly speaking at the legislature to oppose efforts to loosen the laws that regulate alcohol or gambling. What was once a far-left pipe dream now has mainstream acceptance — and an influential sponsor in Rabon, who in addition to being a cancer survivor is also one of the most powerful Republican lawmakers in North Carolina.
The newfound GOP support for medical marijuana is largely because of two separate factors. One is that the issue is highly popular. Polls have shown more than 75% of North Carolinians support legalizing medical marijuana, including a majority of every age, race and political demographic. Also, Republican lawmakers want to find new sources of revenue for the state. Taxes and fees from marijuana could bring in millions of dollars. So could a separate project GOP leaders are also pushing this year, House Bill 347, to legalize sports betting.
Both those bills are planned to be in committee Tuesday; marijuana in the House and sports betting in the Senate.
In the last legislative session, GOP leaders approved a plan to gradually lower the corporate income tax rate to 0% within the next few years. It would shrink the annual state budget by $1 billion or more. That means schools might face budget cuts since more than half of the state budget goes to public education.
To help blunt the severity of potential future budget cuts, GOP leaders have been looking for new ways the government could make money to replace corporate taxes — in addition to expanding sales taxes, which they already approved years ago as part of a different income tax cut. Marijuana could be a piece of that, along with sports betting.
Additionally, WRAL News reported earlier this year, lawmakers have discussed plans to allow four new casinos to be built around the state. And a separate bill to legalize video poker machines, House Bill 512, got its first hearing last week — but still must pass a number of legislative hurdles before potentially becoming law.
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