A Senate-passed bill to legalize medical marijuana in North Carolina is effectively dead this session, with House Republican lawmakers reportedly deciding not to allow it to advance further following an internal caucus vote.
The legislation from Sen. Bill Rabon (R) cleared the Senate earlier this month in a strongly bipartisan vote. But questions were already being raised about its prospects in the House, where GOP leadership had been consistently signaling that they were reluctant to move the legislation this year.
Now, Axios reports that the House GOP’s vote at the closed-door meeting all but seals the fate of the cannabis reform, “giving it a slim chance of becoming law” during the current session.
“We’re disappointed that the Republican caucus did not come to an agreement to move medical cannabis legislation forward,” Kevin Caldwell, Southeast legislative manager for Marijuana Policy Project, told Marijuana Moment.
“It’s certainly going to hold back patient access to safe, lab-tested medicine for at least six more months—if not longer,” he said, “And we just hope that all parties can agree on legislation that meets the needs of the patients, as well as all the concerns of the stakeholders.”
Rabon’s NC Compassionate Care Act had advanced through four Senate committees before finally reaching the floor. The momentum seemed to bode well for reform, but GOP members reportedly conferenced internally, choosing not to give the bill a committee…
