Today, North Carolina is one of 10 states in the US without medical marijuana or some kind of regulated adult-use market. We’re a throwback, and not in any kind of good way.
There’s a scene in the comedy “Walk Hard” that I can’t stop thinking about right now. In it, the main character—a spoof of Johnny Cash—encounters marijuana for the first time.
“You don’t want this, get outta here,” one guy warns, before explaining—hilariously—that the drug is cheap, generally not addictive, and far less likely to cause an overdose than other drugs.
It’s just a movie, and a silly one at that. But I think of it when I remember that North Carolina is years behind most states in the US when it comes to cannabis or marijuana.
We are a throwback, and not in any kind of good way.
https://new.cardinalpine.com/local/interested-in-dropping-alcohol-here-are-6-thc-infused-drinks-made-in-north-carolina/
Where North Carolina stands
Today, North Carolina is one of 10 states in the US without medical marijuana or some kind of regulated adult-use market.
Gov. Josh Stein supports legalization, but doing so will require new laws from the Republican-dominated NC General Assembly.
Legalization feels inevitable there. Because, as the years go by, the state’s laws seem to get more and more obsolete on this issue.
True: If I had to rank the top 10 worst positions at the legislature, marijuana wouldn’t crack that list. Pole position goes to “defunding public education” on a breakaway. But the GOP blockade on cannabis is silly nonetheless. And getting sillier.
https://new.cardinalpine.com/news/politics/updating-north-carolina-marijuana-laws//
Especially when you consider that many North Carolinians, including the writer of this column, can get their THC—or Tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound that gives marijuana consumers a “high”—in a variety of ways because of the loopholes in our laws.
I prefer any one of the canned, fizzy drinks you can buy at your local bottle shop or Total Wine. The world doesn’t end when you drink these hemp-derived drinks. I find them pleasant and fun without the hangover of alcohol.
(If you’re going to try ingesting THC, my advice is to take it slow. Moderation, as always, is smart. And keep them away from your kids because they can look like cute little sodas.)
The point is: Cannabis is already here. It has been. And North Carolina looks increasingly ridiculous pretending otherwise.
Pros and cons of marijuana in North Carolina
I get the concerns. Marijuana isn’t for everyone. Its impact on certain serious mental health disorders is still poorly understood. Smoking it comes with many of the same problems as cigarettes. Plus, some folks, including me, have been raised on a steady diet of anti-weed messaging.
But compare cannabis side-by-side with alcohol or many of the other ways people chill out. Some folks are going to find that marijuana, at worst, is no more harmful than booze. At best, they’ll find it to be a promising treatment for some chronic conditions—things like anxiety, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, post-traumatic stress, cancer, insomnia, and chronic pain, among others.
No wonder the alcohol industry is spending a lot of money to try to convince lawmakers to ban the stuff.
https://new.cardinalpine.com/local/last-stand-north-carolina-hemp/
Here in North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein supports marijuana legalization. So does the cannabis advisory council of physicians, law enforcement, and policymakers Stein created in 2025. And, for several years, there’s been some momentum for medical marijuana in the NC General Assembly, which is dominated by Republicans, but it hasn’t gotten through the state House of Representatives.
It will likely come up again in this year’s legislative session, which begins Tuesday. There’s no guarantee it will pass. Conservative lawmakers are divided on the subject, even if most North Carolinians aren’t.
A 2025 Meredith College poll found 7 in 10 North Carolina residents support medical marijuana. Find me an issue with such broad, bipartisan support. I’ll keep waiting.
The economic benefits are obvious too. NC’s cannabis council found in their interim report this year that the illegal marijuana trade in NC is worth about $3 billion—the second largest in the nation.
That’s a lot of tax money, y’all.
I don’t have a crystal ball. My prediction is medical marijuana will pass North Carolina sooner rather than later. The public support is too deep and wide for even this legislature to ignore.
Plus, with NC House Speaker Destin Hall in his second year as the House leader and Senate Leader Phil Berger on his way out, the legislature’s leadership is changing.
North Carolinians can find out who their state representatives are here. Do yourself a favor and find out where they stand on legalization.
When it does pass, whenever that is, the legislature will hear something they’re not accustomed to these days: cheering on all sides.
