GOP health leader targets NC’s laws on pot, hemp and tobacco. Will it pass?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Burgin filed a bill to decriminalize possession of 5 grams or less of marijuana.
- Burgin’s bill would raise the age to purchase tobacco and vapor products to 21.
- The bill tightens hemp definitions and funds 37 full-time alcohol law-enforcement agents.
North Carolina’s cannabis and nicotine laws are a grab bag. And lawmakers have been trying for years to come to an agreement on how to deal with tobacco, hemp and marijuana. This year is no different.
The state remains one of the few in the nation that has not legalized marijuana for either medical or recreational use, and it is similarly among the few that have yet to raise the legal tobacco age to 21 to align with federal law.
And, while marijuana remains prohibited, hemp — which stems from the same cannabis plant — is legal but remains unregulated, with no age limits currently imposed on its use.
But efforts have failed primarily because there has so far not been enough buy-in from Republican lawmakers (though several GOP members have filed bills addressing the issues) who hold the majority of seats in both the House and the Senate.
And so far, during the short legislative session, which began on April 21, GOP lawmakers have not had committee hearings on bills broaching either of these topics.
Sen. Jim Burgin, an Angier Republican who is chairman of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee, sees a chance there will be movement on these issues.
“A lot of senators and House members want to see a vaping bill,” Burgin told The News & Observer on Monday.
Burgin has filed several bills this session covering multiple issues. One of them filed in late April deals with marijuana, hemp and tobacco.
The bill, which has not had a committee hearing, would decriminalize possession of 5 grams or less of marijuana. But it also would raise fines for selling the drug, which is a felony.
The bill would tighten the definitions of hemp products to limit them further, in alignment with impending federal law; would make manufacturers and sellers of vapor products and marijuana more likely to face liability lawsuits; and would raise the age to purchase tobacco and vapor products to 21. It also provides funding for hiring of 37 full-time alcohol law-enforcement agents and for the purpose of evidence storage and disposal.
Whether this bill moves forward remains to be seen, Burgin said. So does whether “it’s got everything in it it should have or maybe has too much in it,” he said. “But that’s what the committee process is for. So I want it to move through committees so that we can have discussions about it, figure out what’s next,” he said.
Burgin said the priority has been getting the budget done. House and Senate leaders announced a budget deal Tuesday.
Marijuana, hemp and tobacco efforts
Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the psychoactive component in the cannabis plant. What makes marijuana illegal and hemp not is the levels of delta-9 THC, which provides the classic “high.”
Burgin said a lot of vape stores are selling marijuana products illegally. He’s talked to law enforcement officials about recent cases of children getting hold of THC-infused gummies and being hospitalized, he said.
“The whole idea of the bill was to get inside the vape stores to make sure they’re not selling THC products or any of the laced or infused products, and to curtail what’s going on within a lot of the young people,” Burgin said.
Burgin said parents and grandparents have told him their kids and grandkids have “all kinds of issues” from vaping and THC, including popcorn lung, or bronchiolitis obliteran, which is a condition that has been linked to vaping that results in irreversible lung damage.
“The vape stores and their sponsors and the people that are selling the products to kids, they don’t want this. They want to just be unfettered and be able to do what they want to. And I think that ought to be a real wake-up call for all of us,” he said.
Hemp must contain 0.3% or less of Delta-9 THC by dry weight under federal law’s current definition. However, the Trump administration changed the definition, which goes into effect Nov. 12, to be based on total THC levels (including delta-9 and other forms). That is expected to remove several hemp products from the shelves, and multiple hemp shop owners in the state have told The N&O that this will effectively gut the hemp industry.
Charges for personal use of marijuana possession currently vary depending on the amount. Possession of less than half a gram is considered a misdemeanor and can lead to a $200 fine but not jail time. Having half a gram to one and a half grams is a misdemeanor that can lead to up to 120 days in jail. Anything from one and a half grams to 10 pounds is a felony and can lead to months in prison. In North Carolina, marijuana possession charges and convictions stay on a person’s public record, which can affect getting jobs and more, unless they are expunged.
Burgin’s bill is not the first on these topics.
Last week, several teens and other advocates came to the legislature as part of the NC Alliance of Public Health Agencies’ Tobacco 21 coalition to push for passage of a bill known as known as Solly’s Law, which would regulate the tobacco industry and raise the age for purchasing tobacco products to 21 in North Carolina. That bill is being helmed by Rep. Donnie Loftis, a Republican from Gastonia. It has been filed before but has failed to move in either the House or Senate.
On marijuana, Republican Sen. Bill Rabon has filed a bill in multiple sessions to legalize medical use of the drug, but that’s failed despite Rabon’s leadership role as Rules Committee chairman. The House hasn’t taken it up.
There’s also been a push to regulate hemp products so kids can’t access them. That included last year when the House and Senate traded legislation regulating hemp products. The most recent trades happened in June when the Senate overwrote a House bill that had some restrictions on hemp and tobacco products for youths, to expand it to a bill that could effectively lead to a ban on most hemp products on the market today, allowing only for hemp products with delta-9 THC in very small doses.
Democratic efforts
Meanwhile, Democrats at the legislature have largely supported some form of legalization, and some have previously filed bills to do so. They’ve also largely voted in favor of the Republican-drafted bills on this issue that have ultimately failed.
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein in June of last year created a council to study and recommend options for a comprehensive, statewide approach to cannabis.
That council released an interim report in April recommending North Carolina set up a legal, regulated marijuana and hemp market for adults. Residents spent about $3 billion in 2022 on illegal marijuana, making North Carolina the second-largest marijuana black market in the country.
“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,” said Stein in a news release following the group’s recommendations.
Four Democrats are also sponsoring a bill that would put a constitutional amendment before voters in November allowing possession of a limited amount of cannabis for personal use and providing that medical use would not be a criminal offense. The General Assembly would then be required to enact laws governing the possession of cannabis for medical use and for personal use.
As Democrats are in the minority, it’s unlikely the bill will move.
The bill is a “good balance of allowing voters to voice their concerns and make a determination about what we do with cannabis, but also leaving room for the General Assembly to actually take action,” said Sen. Caleb Theodros from Charlotte.
Part of the bill is “just frustration from the lack of action with the General Assembly,” he said.
