By Peyton Majors
Christian Action League
June 21, 2024
North Carolina’s Senate on Thursday again passed a bill that would legalize medical marijuana, sending a bill to the House that would permit the use of cannabis for “debilitating medical conditions” but that opponents warn will open the door to its recreational use.
It was the third straight year that the Senate passed such a bill. It has never passed the House.
It passed by a vote of 33-9, with 14 Democrats joining 19 Republicans in backing it. All nine “no” votes came from Republicans. The bill is H.B. 563.
Medicinal marijuana is legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia.
“I have personally, in my life, seen the benefits of medical cannabis,” said Sen. Bill Rabon, a Republican and a supporter. “I have lived it. I hope none of you have to experience what I have experienced.”
But GOP Sen. Jim Burgin warned the bill, if it becomes law, could cause more harm than good.
“I’ve talked to doctors, I’ve talked to my sheriffs,” Burgin said. “I’ve talked to district attorneys. And all of those that I’ve talked to that are in my district and outside say they’re against this, they think it is gonna cause problems.”
Legalization will lead to an increase in impaired driving, Burgin said. It also will lead to more problems among veterans, he said.
“In the veteran community, we see suicide rates stay the exact same that they have, even though all of the states that we talked about, and the District of Columbia, have medical marijuana and some legal marijuana,” he said. “This indicates that marijuana is not helping. Marijuana masks the symptoms of disease or disorder and does nothing to fix it.”
Burgin shared the testimony of a veteran spouse.
“Her husband sits and smokes marijuana. She says it’s causing depression,” Burgin said. “He’s lethargic and their marriage is suffering. He has no desire to seek treatment or accomplish anything. He just wants to smoke marijuana and be left alone. She’s worried that this is going to lead to his suicide.
“We have the largest military base in the country, and we’re retaining more of our veterans than ever before,” Burgin said. “We need to look at this. If the VA thought using medical marijuana was the best plan of action, don’t you think that we’d be pushing to get that done?”
Rabon, a supporter, said the bill would make marijuana safer for users.
“We have marijuana at our convenience stores,” Rabon said. “We have it at filling stations. … But this is not a product that we can rely on. … It may have an active ingredient in it, it may have something in it that no one knows. … What the state needs is as 38 other states have done is a medical-grade product prescribed or recommended by a physician who has had education on this matter.”
Burgin, the opponent, said other states have regrets.
“I’ve traveled the country. I’ve spoken to people from states and across the world that have legalized medical marijuana,” Burgin said. “And in every place, I’ve been, they said they wish they had either not done it or done it in a different manner.”
Burgin added, “If this bill passes … lobbyists will start talking about it for recreation use.”
Opponents now are focusing on the House, hoping it is blocked there as it was in 2023 and 2022.
Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, criticized the Senate for adding the language on medicinal marijuana to a bill that previously came from the House and had the Christian Action League’s support. The initial bill regulated and banned hemp-derived consumable products that are sometimes consumed by children and sold in stores. He said that adding a provision for legalizing medical marijuana combines issues of grave consequence that affect public health and safety and confuses legislative intent.
“What are we doing here? We are banning bad drugs that harm, but paving the way for the legalization of smoked marijuana which numerous scientific studies have said is harmful and which has no endorsement from any major medical association as having any significant medicinal value,” Creech said. “Each of these issues deserves its own consideration, and bundling like this only leads to less informed decision-making on an issue of remarkable social consequence. An omelet with one rotten egg in it makes a rotten omelet, and this measure as it is, with its rotten provision for so-called medical marijuana, makes for a rotten bill.”
