(The Center Square) – The North Carolina Senate this week unanimously approved legislation to legalize hemp and CBD, which would become illegal again at the end of June without any legislative action.
Senate Bill 762sponsored by Sen. Brent Jackson, R-Sampson, would allow North Carolina farmers to continue growing hemp for use in products such as fabric, rope, food, fuel, paint, particleboard, paper, plastics and thousands of others products
The legislation passed Tuesday would also allow the use of CBD products, which are used to treat illnesses and health problems.
About 1,500 licensed hemp growers and 1,200 registered processors have joined the industry since the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Pilot Program launched in 2015, and lawmakers must now reauthorize the program, according to The Associated Press.
North Carolina law limits the amount of THC, the psychoactive component of hemp plants, to 0.3%. As of January 1, all growers in the state must obtain a hemp license from the US Department of Agriculture and comply with federal regulations.
S 762 defines hemp and exempts it from the state’s Controlled Substances Act, a measure necessary to allow the USDA program to continue in North Carolina.
The passage of the bill in the Senate on Tuesday is a positive first step for farmers and retailers who have raised concerns about hemp returning to an illegal state, although the legislation must also clear the House and get Governor Roy Cooper’s signature.
Modern Apotheca owner Eric Stahly told WNCN-TV retailers “want rules and regulations to make it a fair market to participate in and for our customers to get the high quality products they deserve.”
While hemp products such as CBD have gained popularity in North Carolina in recent years, law enforcement groups and others have opposed efforts to expand the legal use of hemp products, which have argued that the changes would lead to the legalization of marijuana.
Proponents of S 762 believe opposition is fading. Eddie Caldwell, a spokesman for the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association, which has opposed legalization in the past, told WRAL the group has no position on the bill.
“We will follow it and consult with the leadership of the association if it continues to move forward through the legislative process,” he said.
Jackson told WNCN-TV he’s optimistic the tides are turning for hemp.
“Law enforcement has seen that it’s not a problem,” he said. “You know, we’re even talking about medical marijuana now, so I think the train is moving.”
An Emerson College poll in April found that 68 percent of North Carolina voters support legalizing medical marijuana, while 46 percent support legalizing recreational marijuana.
A separate bill to legalize medical marijuana, S 711could pass the Senate this week, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, told the AP.
Advocates for medical marijuana legalization, however, have expressed concern over how the legislation, known as the N.C. Compassionate Care Act, is drafted, citing $50,000 license fees, a 10-provider limit and a vertical integration requirement for each license, requiring one company to operate all aspects of production.
“Very expensive barriers to entry, a small number of licenses and the requirement for vertical integration make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the current hemp industry (in North Carolina) to participate in this incoming market” , Nicolette Baglio, owner. of Asheville-based hemp company Citizen Bloom Botanics, told Mountain Xpress.
“Corporate cannabis is the only ones that have the capital to operate this type of structure,” Baglio said. “They’re like the Walmarts of cannabis.”