RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) – North Carolina will once again ban hemp and CBD in North Carolina on July 1 as the bill to permanently legalize them sits in Senate's rules committee. That is, unless lawmakers move quickly.
The state Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 455, which would permanently legalize hemp and CBD, on May 5. The House was not totally behind the hemp bill, passing it by a vote of 86-25 on June 1. Among those 25 N.C. House Republicans voting nay were House Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Sarah Stevens, who represents Surry, Wilkes and Alleghany counties, Rep. John Faircloth of Guilford County, Pat Hurley of Randolph County and Ben Moss of Montgomery County.
The last stamp of approval needed was Gov. Roy Coopers, but, before it could get there, the bill was referred to the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate where it has stayed since June 2.
North Carolina introduced the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Pilot Program in 2015 after hemp farming became legal under federal law in 2014. Since then, about 1,500 hemp growers and more than 1,200 processors in North Carolina have set up in the Tar Heel State. But, as the name implies, North Carolina has looked at this as a temporary pilot program, and it's scheduled to end Thursday, June 30.
An earlier version of the 2022 Farm Act included text that would have legalized hemp and CBD, but that text was stripped out of it in the House's revised bill introduced on June 22. SB 455, a separate bill, was first introduced in April 2021 and has since gotten approval from both the state Senate and House before it was referred to the Senate Rules Committee where it has been since June 2.
SB 455 would redefine the difference between hemp and marijuana. Hemp is described as being cannabis that has 0.3% less Delta-9, which is the chemical that makes a marijuana user high. The bill would have also permanently removed hemp from the state’s list of controlled substances. There are 31 other states in which hemp is decriminalized, as North Carolina does for now.
The bill would allow farmers to continue to grow hemp as a foundation for the fiber found in rope and garments and other products but also for the CBD products, such as oils, vapes and other consumables. The difference is that these products are very low in intoxicants, such as THC, and serve more to soothe people than to make them high.
Law enforcement officials had opposed this law, wanting hemp and marijuana to remain illegal, but Eddie Caldwell of the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association, which has long led the opposition, told WRAL TV that his group does not have a position on the law.
"We will be following it and consulting with the association leadership if it continues moving through the legislative process," Caldwell said.
A WGHP/The Hill/Emerson College Poll found that a majority of North Carolinians support some form of legalized marijuana. That poll, conducted in April among registered voters, found that 68% of respondents support the legalization of medical marijuana, and 19% said it should not be legal. North Carolina is one of only six states that don’t allow medical marijuana.
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