Divided GOP Helps This State Dodge Bullet From The Pot Lobby, Says Anti-Marijuana Group

Is the battle for medical marijuana legalization in North Carolina over for this year?

Some groups say yes, some say no. Here is what happened.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), an organization opposed to marijuana legalization, said on Friday that North Carolina “dodged a bullet from the pot lobby,” referring to the  the proposed legalization.

Luke Niforatos, executive VP of SAM told the News & Observer that “based on just several statements from a number of the members of Republican leadership, and just kind of the way that discussions have been going over the last month,” the bill is dead. 

Republican Senator Bill Rabon, who experienced the medical benefits of medical marijuana (MMJ) firsthand some 20 years ago when he was battling cancer, sponsored the legislation.

“I know that tens of thousands of people in the state would benefit just as I did” if the MMJ became law, Rabon said in May when he shocked the NC General Assembly by revealing his personal experience with cannabis. The GOP-dominated state Senate passed the bill on March 1, after which it's been debated in the House.

That’s why Rabon is pushing hard for the bill, out of personal belief in a good cause. He recently made a clever legislative maneuver and amended a popular House bill so that it can only become law if his medical marijuana bill is also approved.

The move was welcomed differently...along party lines. While some Democratic senators like Mike Woodard and Paul Lowe welcomed it, some Republicans were not so pleased. Namely, state Rep. Mike Clampitt who previously supported the bill but now says he's “appalled” by the scheme and has turned against the measure.

Not Medicine, Big Tobacco?

Why is SAM against the measure?

According to the group’s official press release and wellknown philosophy, legalizing medical marijuana opens the door for recreational weed. Also, it claims that cannabis is not medicine.

“Marijuana isn’t medicine. It’s not approved to treat any illness. So-called medical marijuana is the industry’s way of getting a foothold in a state that they can then use to create an open THC drug market," stated Niforatos. "Those North Carolina legislators who had the courage to listen to doctors, parents, addiction specialists and law enforcement saw through this ruse should be commended.”

The group claims that the fight against legal cannabis is a fight against “Big Tobacco.” 

“You literally have Altria MO, the largest tobacco company in the country that is one of the largest investors in the marijuana industry. They're the ones that are leading the charge to legalize marijuana in many states like Virginia and also at the federal level. I think the more we realize that this is a ploy by an addiction industry to get legal and get more people hooked on their drugs," Niforatos, said as reported by WXII 12. 

In 2018, Marlboro maker Altria invested $1.8 billion in a Canadian cannabis producer Cronos Group CRON for a 45% stake.

As for the claim that marijuana is not medicine, many studies confirm this plant is helpful

with various health conditions including chronic pain, relieving the effects of chemotherapy and as a sleep aid. There’s also the FDA-approved Jazz Pharmaceutical’s JAZZ CBD-based drug Epidiolex for treating children with severe forms of epilepsy. Epidiolex was initially approved for treating seizures connected to Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes and in 2020 for treating seizures related to tuberous sclerosis complex.

Then, there’s also Sativex, a drug approved by England’s National Health Service in 2019 to treat muscle spasms linked to multiple sclerosis. It is a mix of psychoactive Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and CBD, which helps reduce pain, inflammation and anxiety without psychoactive effects.

So, Is It Really Over?

According to Guilford County Republican and House Whip Jon Hardister, the GOP House caucus has not made a final call on the bill. While Hardister backs the legislation, he confirms that his caucus is divided.

Democratic Sen. Paul Lowe, another sponsor of the legalization bill, also confirmed that “by no means” is the bill “dead.”

“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,” Lowe told the outlet. “Some bills take a while … it’s a process and sometimes, sometimes it’s a slow process. If we don’t finish it in the long session, we’ll deal with it in the short session” in 2024, he said. “I feel pretty confident about it.”

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by santima.studio and ducu59us on Shutterstock