Two top NC lawmakers push back on council recommendation to legalize marijuana
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Two top Republican lawmakers voiced concerns over council's legalization push.
- Council recommends regulated adult market, noting protections and tax revenue.
- Lawmakers warn legalization could raise psychosis risk and strain rural behavioral health.
Two top Republican North Carolina lawmakers who help decide how health care dollars are spent and shape health care policy in the state spoke out Tuesday against findings from a governor-created council recommending marijuana legalization for adults, a sign the issue could again face legislative gridlock this year.
“It’s remarkable that we’re going to put money into psychosis treatment and opioid treatment at the same time we have a report out that is trying to legalize marijuana when we know that there’s a four times higher likelihood of psychosis when young adults use marijuana,” said Rep. Timothy Reeder, an Ayden Republican who is an emergency physician. He’s also a chair of an appropriations and health care committee. The GOP controls the legislature.
“So we’re funding money for a program that we’re getting ready to exacerbate,” he said.
The North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis — which was created in June 2025 by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to study and recommend options for a comprehensive, statewide approach to cannabis — recommended setting up a legal, regulated marijuana and hemp market for adults this month.
The advisory council includes law enforcement officials, public health experts, industry representatives and state lawmakers — including Republican rules committee chairs from both chambers. Lawrence Greenblatt, the state health director and chief medical officer at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and Matthew Scott, district attorney for Prosecutorial District 20 in Robeson County, serve as co-chairs.
Marijuana is illegal in North Carolina. Hemp, which also comes from cannabis, is legal.
Reeder’s comment came during a joint legislative committee hearing on various health care topics, including an update on how federal money would be spent to improve rural health, nursing program expansion efforts within the UNC System and more. That federal money was provided to states after the Trump administration made major cuts to Medicaid.
As part of a North Carolina rural health plan, for which the state is receiving $213 million for 2026, with the opportunity for more in future years, the state plans to spend some of that money on behavioral health and substance use disorder services programs and staffing.
“I’m very concerned, like Dr. Reeder, about this commission on marijuana. Rural North Carolina — I’ll use Harnett County as an area — we fight it all the time. We have people in involuntary commitment dealing with it,” said Sen. Jim Burgin, an Angier Republican, who is the chairman of the committee on appropriations for health care and a health care committee.
“We are talking about spending money on rural health care and trying to make people healthier. And at the same time, we have a commission that’s recommending legalization of marijuana,” he said.
THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol is the psychoactive component in the cannabis plant. It can be addictive, and experts say in severe cases it can lead to cannabis use disorder, affecting a person’s ability to function at home or work and causing health problems, The News & Observer previously reported. Some evidence has linked cannabis use to earlier onset of psychosis in people with genetic risk factors for psychotic disorders, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
There have been recent shifts at the federal level on cannabis. Many hemp products are set to become illegal starting in November, barring any change. But Trump signed an executive order in late December moving marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III classification. The shift does not legalize marijuana but recognizes its potential medical uses.
Some studies, for example, have suggested that medical marijuana legalization might be associated with decreased prescription opioid use and overdose deaths, according to the NIDA.
Lawmakers are retuning to Raleigh later this month. Cannabis policy — including medical marijuana and hemp regulations — could come up.
More details on the council’s recommendations
North Carolina is one of only 10 states and three U.S. territories that do not have a regulated adult-use marijuana market or medical marijuana program, according to an interim report released by the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis.
The council’s report said North Carolinians spent about $3 billion on illegal marijuana in 2022, making the state the second-largest illicit cannabis market in the country.
A lack of regulations on hemp has led to a permissive “wild west” marketplace for intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids, layered on top of a robust illicit marijuana market, said the report.
Gov. Josh Stein echoed that finding in a news release on Friday in response to the group’s recommendations. “Our state’s unregulated cannabis market is the wild west and is crying for order. Let’s get this right and create a safe, legal market for adults that protects kids,” he said.
The council said that a regulated system could generate tens to hundreds of millions of dollars annually in tax revenue, while adding consumer protections and limits on youth access.
Lawmakers across numerous years have debated bills to legalize medical marijuana but have not reached an agreement. They also have not been able to reach agreement on regulations for hemp, which can be accessed by children.
