A North Carolina Republican senator has refiled a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state, and a key leader in the chamber said that it’s “the right thing” to do, though he tempered expectations about the prospects of advancing the reform in the House in the short term.
The new legislation from Senate Rules and Operations Committee Chairman Bill Rabon (R) would allow patients with qualifying conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and multiple sclerosis to possess and purchase cannabis from licensed dispensaries.
An earlier version of the reform bill cleared the Senate last year, but House Republicans blocked it from advancing further.
In an interview with Spectrum News 1’s “Trying It Together” podcast, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R) said that the legislation his chamber advanced was “well-constructed” and “addressed a lot of the concerns that people have” while providing a needed treatment option for patients with serious illnesses.
He said “we’ll see whether or not this session is the right time,” particularly as it concerns how the GOP-controlled House approaches it, but “I think it’s the right thing for us to do.”
Listen to Berger’s cannabis comments, around 30:20 into the audio below:
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