NC's governor signs executive order establishing new advisory council on cannabis
The North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis will hold its first meeting in July. ()
Governor Josh Stein signed an executive order Wednesday establishing the new North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis. The Council will study and recommend options for a comprehensive statewide approach to cannabis that is grounded in public health and public safety considerations. Stein's order says the new council will learn from lessons in other states and experts and focus on the protection and safety of all North Carolinians, especially the state's youth.
The council announced Wednesday includes 24 members and will be co-chaired by State Health Director Lawrence Greenblatt and Robeson County District attorney Matt Scott. Other who will serve on the board will be representatives from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Public Safety, the state Department of Justice, local law enforcement officials, as well as North Carolina farmers. Notably, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians would also have a seat at the table. The Eastern Band first approved the use of medicinal cannabis in 2021, launching recreational marijuana sales on its tribal land last year.
In an interview with WRAL on Tuesday, Gov. Stein likened the current situation surrounding cannabis and THC products to the 'wild, wild West.'
'The idea that we have a system where this product, which is a drug that can get you high, is for sale out there without any restrictions on how it's sold to me is insane,' said Stein.
Legislators have been grappling with whether to legalize medical marijuana for several sessions as well as how to address the growing number of vape stores that sell THC-infused products.
Stein said he hopes the new council can bring Republicans and Democrats from both chambers together to work with health professionals and law enforcement to find common ground.
What's clear, said the governor, is that the unregulated marketplace is not working.
'Just go into a vape shop, ask the clerk what product will get me the most high and they will give you something. And it would get you high if you were to take it. So that's not acceptable,' Stein said. 'So, if we don't accept the status quo, what do we want the reality to actually be?'
According to the governor's office the rate of emergency department visits in North Carolina for intoxicating cannabis ingestion among children and youth ages 17 and under has increased more than 600 percent in recent years, and among older teens, the rate has increased more than 1,000 percent.
Senator Bill Rabon, a cancer survivor and the primary sponsor of the Compassionate Care Act, has been a leading voice for medical marijuana legislation. He is one of four legislators asked to serve on the advisory council.
Rabon (R-Brunswick) told his colleagues last year that there was very little difference between products like Delta 9 and marijuana and the state would be wise to craft its own regulatory framework. Legislation to regulate hemp-derive consumables and medicinal marijuana passed the NC Senate last June, only to languish in the House.
The new Council will consider public health considerations, potential marijuana prescriptions for certain conditions, as well as what regulatory guardrails are needed regarding potency and purity standards.
Another consideration would be the possibility of expunging past convictions that do not align with the recommendations of the Council, including for simple possession of marijuana.
According to Pew Research, nearly six-in-ten Americans (57%) believe that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational purposes. USA Today, citing the group DISA Global Solutions, reported in April that North Carolina is one of a tiny minority of just six states in which marijuana is fully illegal for both recreational and medicinal purposes.
The North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis will hold its first meeting in July submitting preliminary recommendations for a comprehensive cannabis policy to the Stein by March 15, 2026.
In the meantime, the governor said he would like the General Assembly to prohibit the sales of products that contain intoxicating THC to anyone under 21 by requiring photo ID age-verification, while requiring packaging that lets adults know what is actually in the cannabis products they may be buying.
Read Stein's Executive Order below:
EO16-Cannabis-Advisory-Council
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