Two bills filed by Democratic legislators in the North Carolina House and Senate last week are seeking to legalize recreational marijuana for adults aged 21 and older, reinvest funds to underserved communities, and expunge some prior marijuana-related convictions.
The bills come after unsuccessful attempts at legislation promoting both medical and recreational marijuana in North Carolina.
The Cannabis Legalization Act, which would have legalized recreational marijuana use, was introduced in the House in 2023 by former Mecklenburg Rep. John Autry; however, the bill stalled.
Medical marijuana has been broached numerous times in the General Assembly as well, with a bill aimed to legalize medical marijuana for conditions including HIV, AIDS, Crohn’s disease, sickle cell anemia, Parkinson’s disease, and PTSD. First launched in 2021 and the following three years thereafter with slight modifications, The Compassionate Care Act was proposed by local Sen. Michael Lee. Though it passed the Senate, it failed in the House.
Currently, marijuana is illegal in North Carolina except on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians lands, where medical marijuana cards are available. Last year, its tribal council also passed selling recreational marijuana to anyone over 21.
The Marijuana Legalization and Reinvestment Act was introduced in the House by Rep. Jordan Lopez (D-Mecklenberg) and if passed would legalize recreational marijuana purchase, possession, use, transportation and cultivation for adults 21 and older. But there are restrictions in it, including:
- The bill limits possession at 2 ounces of flower, 15 grams of THC concentrate, and up to 2,000 mg of THC-infused products.
- Up to 6 cannabis plants per person would be allowed for home cultivation but must be stored out of public view.
- Property owners would be permitted to prohibit marijuana smoking in rental housing.
- Smoking cannabis in public and while operating motor vehicles would remain prohibited.
Both the House and Senate recreational marijuana bills would require a regulatory agency to approve or deny any THC products. The Senate bill is sponsored by Sen. Graig Meyer (D-Orange), who told a Raleigh media outlet he imagined THC products would be sold in “ABC-like” stores, with cannabis dispensaries requiring state licensing and regulation.
All cannabis products would need to be lab tested, properly labeled, and packaged securely to deter children or animals from accidentally ingesting the products.
The House and Senate bills are largely the same, differing mainly on how marijuana purchases would be taxed.
The Senate bill would tax based on the potency of the purchase, with the intention to disincentivize higher potency products. According to the bill, the more potent the marijuana, the higher the tax on consumers.
States that currently offer legal recreational cannabis differ on their taxation. In Ohio, where marijuana was legalized in 2024, the retail tax is set at 10% and resulted in $242 million coming into the state last year. The highest tax on recreational marijuana is in Washington state at 37% and since it legalized the product five years ago has accumulated $720 million in revenue.
The North Carolina House bill would offer a flat retail sales tax of 30%, with an additional 2% local tax option for municipalities to add as desired. Half of all cannabis revenue would go to the North Carolina general fund and the rest to research and substance abuse programs.
New Hanover House Rep. Deb Butler said she supports the legislation for multiple reasons.
“A likely reduction in drug related crime, but also because the revenue the Bill creates will flow into a reinvestment fund that will benefit North Carolina communities,” Butler wrote in an email Tuesday.
The House bill would establish a “Reinvestment and Repair Fund” to redistribute a quarter of all collected tax revenue to organizations serving communities that are impacted by poverty, racism and mass incarcerations.
The proposed legislation also aims to correct past injustices by automatically releasing and expunging records for individuals serving sentences for some marijuana-related offenses. The offenses would have to fall in line with the restrictions proposed, in order to be expunged.
In North Carolina, possession of 0.5 ounces or less of cannabis is a misdemeanor punishable by a $200 fine. Possession of 0.5 to 1.5 ounces is also a misdemeanor but can result in one to 120 days of incarceration. Possession of 1.5 ounces to 10 pounds is a felony with a potential sentence of up to eight months in jail.
According to NORML, a non-profit marijuana advocacy group, from 2018 to 2023 there have been approximately 82,000 arrests made in the state for marijuana possession.
Port City Daily also reached out to other area legislators, including Sen. Lee, Rep. Ted Davis and Rep. Charlie Miller, about whether they support or oppose the measures; no response was received by press.
Lee’s medical marijuana bill faced opposition during its years before the GA. Tim Moore (R-NC), former Speaker of the North Carolina House and current U.S. congressman, claimed the bill did not have majority support within the Republican caucus. Opponents argued medical marijuana patients could drive under-the-influence and develop cannabis use disorder.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, approximately 42% of American adults aged 19 to 30 years old reported using cannabis in 2023. The CDC says about 3 in 10 have cannabis use disorder, meaning they are unable to stop using even though it’s causing health and social problems in their lives.
