The North Carolina Senate passed a bill to legalize medical marijuana on Wednesday, sending it to the House shortly after a top lawmaker there said his chamber is positioned to enact the reform this session despite blocking similar legislation last year.
The measure from Sen. Bill Rabon (R) cleared the Senate in a 36-10 vote, about a week after it easily sailed through three committees and one day after it got initial approval on the floor.
The legislation 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.
Advocates have been confident that the legislation would make it through the Senate, as the prior version did during the past session. What’s been less certain is how the GOP-controlled House will approach the issue.
But in a recent podcast interview, House Speaker Tim Moore (R) indicated that he feels the chamber’s new political makeup may give the legislation a pathway for passage.
“I think there’s been a change. We have a lot of new members,” he said, adding that he believes more than 50 percent of lawmakers now back medical cannabis reform. “I would not be
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