A bill that would legalize medical marijuana in North Carolina is likely dead for the 2023 legislative session, House Speaker Tim Moore said on Tuesday. 

Although he is in favor of the bipartisan legislation, Moore said that the bill, which was passed by the North Carolina state Senate in March, does not have the support of enough members of the Republican House majority to advance. Under the rules of the House Republican Caucus, bills brought to the floor for a vote must already have the support of a majority of its members, even if Democratic support makes the measure likely to pass without a majority of Republicans on board.

Complying with the Republican caucus’s rule “would require a number of House members who’ve taken a position of ‘no’ to literally switch their position to want to vote for it, and I just don’t see that happening,” Moore said, according to a report from the Associated Press.

After discussing the legislation with members of the Republican caucus, Moore said that he agrees with recent public comments from House Majority Leader John Bell, who said there is not enough support for the bill to advance this session. 

On Tuesday, Bell told Spectrum News that he suspects the legalization issue will come up during next year’s chief legislative session, likely to begin in May.

“There’s passion on both sides,” Bell said. “We have members of our caucus that are 100% supportive of it, and we have other members that are 100% against it.”

But supporters of the legislation are not ready to give up. Democratic Senator Paul Lowe, another lead sponsor of the medical marijuana legalization bill, told the Raleigh News & Observer “by no means” is the bill “dead.”

Lowe said that discussions with the House Speaker and other members of the Republican leadership team are “ongoing,” and that he feels “pretty good about it.” 

“I think there are some members of his caucus that are reevaluating things and looking at it, and I think they’re gonna come around,” he said, not citing specific lawmakers. Revealing their names, he said, “would kill what I’m trying to do.” 

“If we don’t finish it in the long session, we’ll deal with it in the short session” next year, he said. “I feel pretty confident about it.”

Bill Legalizes MMJ For Patients With Qualifying Conditions

The measure, the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act (Senate Bill 3), was filed in January with sponsorship from Republican Senators Bill Rabon and Michael Lee and Lowe, their Democratic colleague. If passed, the bill would legalize the medicinal use of cannabis for patients with one or more specified qualifying serious medical conditions such as cancer, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder and others. Unlike the more comprehensive medical marijuana programs in many other states, however, the bill does not authorize the use of medical marijuana by patients living with chronic pain.

The sponsors of the bill note that the measure does not legalize recreational marijuana. Instead, the intent of the legislation “is to only make changes to existing state law that are necessary to protect patients and their doctors from criminal and civil penalties and would not intend to change current civil and criminal laws for the use of non-medical marijuana,” Rabon told reporters as the bill was being considered by the Senate earlier this year.

Under the bill, patients with a qualifying “debilitating medical condition” would be allowed access to medical cannabis. The bill permits the smoking and vaping of medical cannabis by patients whose doctors have recommended a specific form and dosage of medical marijuana. Physicians would be required to review a patient’s continued eligibility for the medical marijuana program annually.

Patients would be required to obtain a state medical marijuana identification card to participate in the program. The state Department of Health and Human Services would be tasked with creating “a secure, confidential, electronic database containing information about qualified patients, designated caregivers, and physicians,” according to the text of the measure.

Senate Passed Bill In March

The bill was passed by the North Carolina Senate on March 1 by an overwhelming bipartisan majority and sent to the state House of Representatives. In May, the bill was given a hearing by the House Health Committee, but the bill has not seen any action in the chamber since.

Late last month, Rabon tried to force action on the bill by attaching an amendment to an unrelated bill favored by Republicans in the House that would delay the enactment of the legislation until the medical marijuana bill is approved. The Senate approved the amendment and returned the largely technical legislation to the House, where it awaits further action.

State Senator Julie Mayfield, one of seven Democratic senators sponsoring a bill to legalize recreational marijuana for adults, said that she believes the medical marijuana bill should be allowed to go to the House floor for a vote.

“It is long past time for North Carolina to legalize the medical use of cannabis,” Mayfield said in a statement to local media. “It has helped many, many people, and it is time to allow people who need it to acquire and use it with dignity and without fear. The bill would pass with overwhelming support from Democrats if only Speaker Moore would let it come to a vote. It’s time to let democracy work.”

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Democratic U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey says that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is opposed to marijuana policy reform and is blocking cannabis bills from being approved by his Republican colleagues. Booker said that McConnell’s opposition is preventing the passage of marijuana legislation in the upper chamber of Congress before the end of the year, after which control of the House of Representatives will switch to the GOP. 

Cannabis policy reform advocates had hoped to be able to pass meaningful reforms during the current lame-duck session of Congress before control of the House Representatives passes to the Republican Party. But Booker said that McConnell’s opposition to reforms including restorative justice for those harmed by decades of marijuana prohibition and a bill that would allow the legal cannabis industry access to banking services is influencing the stand taken by other GOP senators.

“They’re dead set on anything in marijuana,” Booker told NJ Advance Media. “That to me is the obstacle.”

The Republican party will take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the new session of Congress next year after gaining a slight majority in last month’s midterm elections. Cannabis policy reform is not likely to be a legislative priority for GOP leaders, who have been less enthusiastic about marijuana legalization than their Democratic counterparts. If cannabis policy reform advocates do not pass a bill before the end of the year, the change in House leadership makes progress on the issue a long shot for at least the next two years.

Republican Representative Brian Mast of Florida, the co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said that cannabis policy reform is consistent with traditional Republican values, but McConnell has failed to take a leadership role on the issue.

“It’s not something that he’s historically been interested in moving or seems to be interested in moving right now,” said Mast. “He should. Just as much as Republicans have been out there arguing states’ rights over Roe v. Wade for the last several months, this is just as much of an issue.”

Hopes For Reform Hinge On SAFE Banking Act

Cannabis policy reform is currently largely focused on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would ease access to traditional financial services for regulated marijuana businesses. Provisions of the bill have been passed by the House of Representatives seven times since 2019, but the measure has failed to gain the approval of the Senate. Most recently, language from the SAFE Banking Act was included in the House version of an annual defense spending bill, but the cannabis provisions were left out of the version released last week.

For the Republicans, bipartisan negotiations on cannabis policy reform are being led by Senator Steve Daines, with the goal of drafting a bill that includes restorative justice provisions championed by Booker while gaining the support of enough GOP senators to be approved in the Senate, where 60 votes from the nearly evenly split body of 100 lawmakers are needed to advance most legislation. 

“The senator is doing everything he can to get this bipartisan bill across the finish line this year for the sake of public safety,” said Rachel Dumke, a spokeswoman for Daines’ office.

But Booker thinks that opposition to marijuana policy reform from McConnell, who has been a leader in hemp legalization, is making his fellow Republicans hesitant to support the SAFE Banking Act or a comprehensive legalization bill.

“The caucus is clearly divided but the people in power in their caucus are clearly against doing anything on marijuana,” Booker said.

Cannabis advocate Justin Strekal, the founder of the marijuana policy reform political action committee BOWL PAC, said that he is hopeful that provisions of the SAFE Banking Act can be attached to an upcoming must-pass omnibus spending bill currently being negotiated in Congress. If the cannabis policy reform measures are part of a larger bill, which would fund the federal government through September of next year, Republican senators could vote for the bill without being forced to openly “defy Mitch McConnell in front of him,” Strekal said. 

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A majority of registered voters in Texas are in favor of legalizing recreational cannabis, according to the results of a statewide poll released this week. The Dallas Morning News/University of Texas at Tyler Poll found that 55% of Texans said that they either support or strongly support legalizing adult-use cannabis. The percentage of voters who favor the legalization of medical marijuana was even stronger, with 72% saying that they support or strongly support the legalization of cannabis for medicinal use.

Overall, 34% of the poll’s respondents said they strongly support legalizing marijuana for adult use, while 21% said they support the move. Just over a third were against legalizing recreational weed, with 14% saying they are opposed and 21% reporting they are strongly opposed, while 9% said they neither support nor oppose legalization.

Support for legalizing adult-use cannabis varied by political affiliation. Among Democrats, 38% said they strongly support legalizing marijuana and 27% said they support the policy change. Independent voters’ support for recreational cannabis was also strong, with 42% saying they strongly support legalization and 21% saying they support it. Support for legalizing recreational pot was weakest among Republicans, with 26% and 17% saying they strongly support or support legalization, respectively.

Laurie Richardson, a Democrat in Frisco, Texas who responded to the poll, said that she has never smoked cannabis. But she added that she knows cannabis has medical benefits, and when it comes to personal use, “prohibition doesn’t work.”

“We tried to prohibit alcohol, and then you have all these people trying to create their own alcohol and people getting alcohol poisoning — I feel the same way with marijuana,” Richardson said. “I just don’t think you’re gonna be able to stop people from accessing it if they want it. I think it needs to be treated almost like alcohol.”

Nearly Half of Republicans Oppose Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization

Nearly half of Republicans surveyed in the poll said they oppose adult-use cannabis legalization. While 16% said they were opposed, 32% said they were strongly opposed.

“If they legalized it, you’re gonna have a dispensary pop up on every corner in our town, and that’s not really something that I look forward to seeing every day,” said Tyler, Texas resident Edwin Kirby, a Republican and one of the poll’s respondents. “With the drug problems we have now with young kids, that’s just gonna add fuel to the fire.”

Legalizing recreational cannabis is even less popular with Republican leaders in Texas. While Governor Greg Abbot has said he is in favor of reducing charges for pot possession to a misdemeanor instead of a felony, he is opposed to broader cannabis policy reforms. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has been an active prohibitionist by blocking cannabis reform legislation from being discussed in the Texas Senate. And at the Texas GOP convention in June, Republicans approved a party platform that opposes the legalization of recreational pot.

Even Stronger Support for Medical Cannabis in Texas

Support for legalizing medical marijuana was even stronger among Texas voters. State lawmakers passed strictly limited legislation to allow for the medicinal use of cannabis oil with less than 0.5% THC for the treatment of epilepsy in 2015, and some reforms have been made to broaden the program since. Earlier this year, the legislature approved an expansion to include patients with cancer and PTSD, but the medical cannabis program in Texas remains one of the nation’s strictest.

Overall, the poll found that 72% of respondents are in favor of legalizing cannabis for medicinal use, including 44% who said they strongly support the move and 28% who said they support it. Among Democrats, three-quarters are in favor of legalizing medical cannabis, with 49% saying they strongly support legalization and 26% saying they support it. Support was stronger among independents, with 51% saying they strongly support medicinal legalization and 26% saying they support the change. Two-thirds of Republicans favor legalizing medical pot, with 35% saying they strongly support the move and 32% saying they support it.

“I’ve got a son that was in the Marine Corps, and he uses it for medicinal purposes,” said Paula Miller, a Republican in Diboll, Texas who responded to the poll. “If anything, they need to make alcohol illegal,” she added after noting that a family member died in a traffic collision caused by a drunk driver.

The new poll, which was released on Monday, showed a dip in support for weed legalization compared to earlier this year. The Dallas Morning News/UT-Tyler Poll released in May showed that 83% supported legalizing medical marijuana and 60% supported legalizing cannabis for use by adults.

The new Dallas Morning News/UT-Tyler Poll was conducted from August 1 through August 7, interviewing a representative sample of 1,358 registered voters via telephone on a variety of subjects of interest to Texans. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

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Time is ticking, and political commentators are starting to wonder about the president’s inaction on cannabis reform—an issue with high support among Democrats. And since Democrats are currently in control of the White House and Congress, it’s on them to push a bill to the finish line.

During a June 3 “Overtime” segment on YouTube, the Real Time with Bill Maher host read an audience-submitted  question to his guest, former Attorney General Eric Holder, about why President Joe Biden hasn’t pushed for the federal legalization of pot. After all, decriminalization of cannabis at the federal level was one of President Biden’s promises on the election trail.

Maher—who denies alignment with any party—said that dealing with the issue would be “dealing with reality,” and it would also bring political benefit. But if Democrats continue to fail to legalize cannabis at the federal level, Maher thinks Republicans will take up the slack.

“Republicans are gonna steal the issue. I think eventually,” Maher told Holder. “I mean, someone like John Boehner works for a marijuana company now. I mean, it could be one of those freedom issues. And, of course, Republicans smoke lots of pot too.”

“Not enough,” Holder said to instant laughter in the audience. “They need to mellow out just a little more.”

Some Republicans have used cannabis as a freedom issue. Politico reported on leaders who are joining the fold, viewing cannabis “through the prism of states’ rights, personal freedom, job creation and tax revenue.”

In a survey, conducted by Pew Research Center from April 5-11, 2021, the majority—72%—of Democrats said cannabis should be legal for medical and recreational purposes versus 47% of Republicans. Only among “conservative” Republicans, the majority of people surveyed said they aren’t in favor of legalizing cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes. While it’s less popular among Republicans, there are some leaders launching their own bills such as Congresswoman Nancy Mace, with her States Reform Act.

Maher pointed out the recent push for social equity measures transforming the industry slowly, but it is an issue Republicans aren’t onboard with. It’s the social equity provisions that are one of the few dividing points when it comes to cannabis bills. On the other hand, leaders like Senator Cory Booker believe social equity provisions are critical for any cannabis reform bill.

“Now I understand the impetus to want to, like, for example, if you’re gonna have new businesses that are legal in the marijuana field, yeah, they probably should go to the people who suffered the most during the drug war,” Maher said. “Republicans, of course, are saying this is a deal-breaker.”

Maher acknowledged that leaders are not aligning with certain details on the issue, but didn’t exactly provide a full solution.

“What do you want, half a loaf? If they said okay, no equity, is it better to have the law passed or changed or is it better to hold out for equity?” Maher asked.

“It’s better to have the law changed,” Holder responded. “And as I said, deal with the societal reality that we have and, you know, and try to make it as equitable as you possibly can, but I wouldn’t want to stop the movement that I think makes sense for the sake of equity.”

Maher serves on the advisory board with NORML and is a longtime known advocate for cannabis, and is known for slamming religion and political correctness in general. Maher was in the same room as High Times this past May, when the political talk show host made an appearance at Woody Harrelson’s grand opening of The Woods in West Hollywood.

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