North Carolina Senate Gives Final Approval to Medical Cannabis Legalization Bill, Sending It to House

The North Carolina Senate signed off on a medical cannabis legalization bill June 6, sending the proposal to the House for consideration.

Senate Bill 711, called the Compassionate Care Act, passed the Senate in a 35-10 vote last week, but the chamber was required to take a second vote Monday before the legislation could advance to the House.

The measure cleared its final hurdle in the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 36-7, the Associated Press reported.

S.B. 711 will likely face more opposition in the House, where Speaker Tim Moore has said the issue may have to wait until next year, according to AP.

The legislation has already been postponed once; S.B. 711 was initially introduced in April 2021 and cleared several Senate committees last summer before lawmakers ultimately decided to hold off on a full floor vote until 2022.

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The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick County, would allow North Carolina to license 10 businesses to grow and process medical cannabis, as well as 80 dispensaries to sell it to qualifying patients with a short list of medical conditions, including cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Rabon told AP that the bill “has undergone years of work” and has "[benefitted] from successes and failures in other states."