Latest news with #AishaDew
Forbes
18-04-2025
- Health
- Forbes
North Carolina Lawmakers File Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill
A group of North Carolina lawmakers this week introduced legislation to legalize medical cannabis in the state, online news source Marijuana Moment reported on Friday. The measure, House Bill 1011, was filed on Tuesday with primary sponsorship from Democratic Reps. Aisha Dew, Pricey Harrison and Zack Hawkins. The measure, titled the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act, would legalize the use of cannabis for patients with certain qualifying debilitating medical conditions, such as cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder. The legislation would also apply to patients in end-of-life care and those with other specified debilitating medical conditions. Patients would need a doctor's recommendation to use medical cannabis under the legislation. Doctors would be permitted to recommend smoking or vaping cannabis if they note the intended method of consumption on the recommendation. The bill also permits registered caregivers aged 21 and up to obtain medical cannabis for patients. North Carolina's medical cannabis program would be overseen by the state Department of Health and Human Services, which would be responsible for developing rules for the testing of medical cannabis products by independent laboratories. Medical cannabis products would be regulated by a newly created Medical Cannabis Production Commission. The agency would be responsible for licensing cannabis businesses and ensuring an adequate supply of medical cannabis is produced for patients. The bill authorizes up to 10 medical cannabis suppliers to cultivate and distribute licensed medical marijuana products. Each supplier would be permitted to operate as many as eight dispensaries, which would be known as 'medical cannabis centers.' The measure also establishes the North Carolina Cannabis Research Program to 'undertake objective, scientific research regarding the administration of cannabis or cannabis-infused products as part of medical treatment.' The legislation is similar to a 2023 bill of the same name from Republican Sen. Bill Rabon. That measure gained the approval of the North Carolina Senate but never came up for a vote in the state House of Representatives. Last year, the Senate approved a separate measure to legalize medical cannabis, but it also failed to garner a vote in the House. The North Carolina Capitol Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Earlier this year, the findings of a survey from Meredith Poll found strong support among registered voters for legalizing medical marijuana in North Carolina. According to the poll, 71% of North Carolinians 'strongly' or 'somewhat' support legalizing medical cannabis, while only 23% 'strongly' or 'somewhat' said they oppose the policy reform. 'We hear about it all the time. There's broad support across political parties. People want it taxed. They want the money, and they want it regulated,' Democratic Sen. Graig Meyer told WDTV television news at the time. 'They want to know we're doing it in a safe way, especially that protects kids.' Meyer voted in favor of the 2023 version of the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act in the Senate, where it received bipartisan support. Despite the issue's popularity, however, medical cannabis legalization bills have failed to gain the support of key Republican leaders in the House of Representatives. 'Everyone knows if you put a marijuana bill on the floor of either chamber, you've got enough votes to pass it,' Meyer said. 'The question is, can you get over the objections of a few powerful people that are standing in the way and that dynamic still exists in the House.' House Bill 1011 has been referred to the Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations of the House for consideration. If the bill is passed into law, North Carolina will join the 39 other states that legalized medical cannabis. At least three other cannabis policy reform bills are also pending in the North Carolina legislature, including House Bill 984, which would legalize medical cannabis only for patients in a registered research program. Senate Bill 350 would legalize both recreational and medical marijuana, while House Bill 413 would legalize recreational cannabis.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill to raise North Carolina minimum wage filed by House Democrats
RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) — A new bill filed in the North Carolina House of Representatives seeks to raise the minimum wage across the state. State Representatives Allison Dahl (D-District 11), Aisha Dew (D-District 111), Bryan Cohn (D-District 32) and Marcia Morey (D-District 30) filed House Bill 353 on Monday, entitled the 'Fair Minimum Wage Act.' The bill seeks to raise the minimum wage across the state to $10 per hour for an hourly wage employee in North Carolina effective Jan. 1, 2026. Every year after that, the minimum wage would raise an additional $2 per hour. D.H. Griffin cited by labor department after employee killed by train in Greensboro 'Beginning September 30, 2030, and on each September 30 thereafter, the Commissioner of Labor shall calculate an adjusted minimum wage rate indexed to the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (All 29 Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average for All Items), CPI-I, or its successor index, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor for the 12-month period preceding the previous September 1,' the bill reads. 'Each adjusted minimum wage rate calculated shall be published on September 30 and take effect on the following January 1.' The bill also addresses wage theft and penalties for employers who do not pay their employees the minimum wage. 'Any employer who violates the provisions of G.S. 95-25.13 or any rule adopted under that section shall be liable to the employee or employees affected in the amount of their actual damages, including, but not limited to, lost wages and benefits plus interest and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs,' the bill states. North Carolina's current minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, though tipped employees can make less than the minimum wage. Read the full text of the bill here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
