Democratic lawmakers in the North Carolina House on Monday filed a bill seeking to legalize adult-use cannabis, WBTV reports.
Titled the “Marijuana Legalization and Reinvestment Act,” the proposal would allow people aged 21 and older to possess, cultivate, buy, and sell cannabis under state law. If passed, the bill would set a 30% excise tax on retail cannabis sales and would give municipalities the option to add another 2% local cannabis industry tax. Fifty percent of the state’s cannabis tax revenue would be allocated to specific funds and research programs — including a new Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund and a cannabis social equity fund proposed in the bill — while the remaining 50% would go into the state’s General Fund.
Provisions of the bill also include banning the public use of cannabis and keeping the cultivation of cannabis hidden from public view, even from other private property. Landlords and property managers would be allowed to prohibit the smoking of cannabis.
North Carolina has yet to enact significant state-level cannabis reforms although the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted in 2023 to legalize adult-use cannabis in the Qualla Boundary region, and later opened an adult-use dispensary there that sells cannabis products to any customer aged 21 or older, whether they live locally or not.
In February, a Meredith College poll found that a 71% majority of North Carolina voters support legalizing medical cannabis access, while just 23% of respondents opposed the reforms and 6% were unsure.
The North Carolina Senate voted to legalize medical cannabis last year but the proposal died in the House.
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