Medical marijuana legalization is back on the table at the North Carolina General Assembly, following nearly a year of uncertainty over its fate.
Senate Bill 711, a legalization proposal whose lead sponsor is one of the state’s most powerful Republican lawmakers, Sen. Bill Rabon of Southport, flew over multiple hurdles in 2021 with bipartisan backing. But once it had only one final committee to clear before going up for a vote — a committee that Rabon himself leads — it vanished from the calendar, leading to speculation about its future.
Late Tuesday afternoon, however, the legislature announced that the proposal will be up for a vote in that final committee, the Senate Rules Committee, on Wednesday morning.
That sets up the possibility that the full Senate could vote on medical marijuana as soon as Thursday, if the committee approves the bill or any additional changes that might be proposed Wednesday.
“I think it’ll probably be heard later this week on the floor,” Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters Tuesday.
“I intend to vote for it,” the powerful Republican leader added.
If it passes the Senate it still wouldn’t become law unless it also passes the House of Representatives and is signed by Gov. Roy Cooper.
------
