North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) on Tuesday expressed support for decriminalizing cannabis in the state while announcing the creation of an advisory council on cannabis policy during an interview with WRAL News. Stein indicated the council would help develop a “smart sound policy response to what’s going on in the real world,” noting he was concerned by the ability of children to access intoxicating hemp-derived products, the lack of labeling requirements, and the obfuscation of THC content in products currently available in the state, which he described as “the wild, wild, West.”
“… Right now it’s so unregulated, it’s a chaotic market,” the governor said in the interview, “but I wanna take it piece by piece.”
During the interview, Stein voiced support for adult-use legalization in the state but expressed concerns for both children and adults who are buying intoxicating hemp-derived products, which have little to no oversight in the state currently, and that he wants to “bring order to the market.”
“The idea that we have a system where this product, which is a drug that can get you high, is for sale out there without any restrictions on how it’s sold to me is insane. With alcohol – I believe adults should be able to drink alcohol if they choose – but we have a system that ensures that we’re protecting kids. You cannot be under 21.” — Stein to WRAL News
Stein argued that North Carolina, despite not having an adult-use cannabis program, is “the most liberal, pro marijuana, adult use state in the country” because there are “no rules whatsoever” on THC products derived from hemp, which he described as “unacceptable.”
“You’ve had the House that’s been trying to wrestle with the vape shops. You have the Senate that’s been looking at the issue of medical marijuana, and they’ve been in conflict,” Stein said. “And so part of what I want this advisory council to do is to get all of the stakeholders around the table together, Republican and Democratic legislators on the House side, Republican and Democratic legislators on the Senate side, public health folks, public safety folks … we want everybody to come together to say what should it look like in North Carolina.”
During the interview, Stein also expressed support for criminal justice reforms related to cannabis convictions, which he called “an anchor that they’re carrying on their shoulder for the rest of their lives” which impacts job, housing, and education prospects.
“We should be decriminalizing it … well I wanna go to the next level where if you use it it’s not a crime at all,” he said, “but for people who have this criminal record we should have a process to expunge those criminal records so that you’re not hampered for what is a product that today is available down the street.”
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