However, the bipartisan Senate Bill 711, titled “NC Compassionate Care Act,” received — as expected — its most vocal opposition to date during the Senate Health Care committee meeting.

SB711 is the latest in several attempts over the past 12 years to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Opponents, who included Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, expressed concern that SB711 will: serve as a gateway to legalized marijuana in North Carolina by 2024; that the licensing fee for vendors is too low; that a license should not be allowed to be sold; and that the potential profit levels need to be lowered.

The bill goes to Senate Rules and Operations for consideration, potentially as early as next week.

SB711 has cleared — in order — the Senate Judiciary, Finance, Judiciary a second time and now Health Care.

The pathway through the state House could be equally daunting, if not more so, according to political analysts.

Before a near hourlong debate on SB711 began, the committee approved four amendments containing mostly technical changes, many requested by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Key supporters

The bill’s odds of clearing the Senate are considered promising given that Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, and chairman of Rules committee, is one of its three primary sponsors, along with Sens. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, and Michael Lee, R-New Hanover.

Rabon, a cancer survivor, has said SB711 would not serve as a gateway to recreational marijuana use.

The bill requires the medical marijuana system be self-sustaining from a revenue perspective following initial money to set up the system.

The funding would come mostly from license fees and a monthly fee equal to 10% of the gross revenue derived from the products sold at the medical cannabis centers.

The bill previously was amended to reduce the number of medical cannabis centers from eight to four, two of which would be located in one of the state’s 20 Tier 1 counties — likely Mecklenburg and in the Triangle.

Forsyth and Guilford counties are in Tier 2.

Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, has said the reason for not having revenue projections yet is that North Carolina’s approach is different from that of other states with medical marijuana laws.

“There really are no projections on how many North Carolinians will be eligible, and there is no best-practice legislation to look at,” Lee said.

Opposing views

Sen. Ralph Hise, R-McDowell, compared the recent Food and Drug Administration decision to give full authorization to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine with no similar action by the FDA on the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana.

“Where are the FDA recommendations on medical marijuana?” Hise asked. “What is the one thing they say it treats or cures?

“I know this bill has its path, but this is not about patients and receiving treatments. This is about placing North Carolina on a path that will make it more acceptable to legalize marijuana.”

Hise said that while “I applaud many of the things they’ve done in this bill,” he expressed concern that additional patient care exceptions will be added in future sessions if SB711 becomes law, and that legislators will be removed from the regulatory process and “leave it up to doctors” to determine who qualifies.

“Maybe society is changing to accept this,” Hise said. “I just didn’t want to be part of taking the first steps.”

Reynolds crossover?

Burgin said that if medical marijuana is approved, it should not be made available in an inhaling or smoking option because of the potential exposure to carcinogens similar to those in smoking traditional cigarettes.

Burgin said that instead of allowing outside cannabis production operations into North Carolina, the state should encourage the tobacco industry to get involved.

Burgin mentioned R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. as an example since “they have the experience to do stuff, the labs and everything else, that we ought to be utilizing those folks.”

In February, Reynolds’ parent company British American Tobacco Plc disclosed launching a pilot program in Manchester, England, for a cannabis vaping product — Vuse CBD Zone – that has the potential to be a global game-changer for the manufacturer and the tobacco industry.

There have been speculations for decades about Reynolds’ potential interest in manufacturing and selling marijuana products, namely marijuana cigarettes. Of course, as an illegal product nationally and at the state level for most of that time, there wasn’t any formal confirmation of Reynolds’ interest.

Yet, it’s clear that Reynolds, as well as Philip Morris USA and other tobacco manufacturers, have the manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure to quickly bring legalized cannabis products into the marketplace.

Restrictive bill

Bill sponsors and other senators supporting SB711 have said it represents what Sen. Wally Nickel, D-Wake, called “the most conservative and restrictive medical marijuana bill in the country.”

There are 36 states that permit some form of medical marijuana use.

“This bill is narrowly tailored to offer medical marijuana to those with legitimate medical needs,” Nickel said.

As a primary reason for legalization, the bill says “modern medical research has found that cannabis and cannabinoid compounds are effective at alleviating pain, nausea and other symptoms associated with several debilitating medical conditions.”

“Recreational marijuana use is not something we want in our state,” Lee said, but added that the prohibition should not keep North Carolina from doing the right thing for people with chronic and debilitating conditions.

Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, a co-primary sponsor, has said bill sponsors reviewed legislation in piecing together SB711.

“We realized that, for some states, it has worked out well, while for others it was just a recreational product,” Lowe said. “That’s not the goal with this particular bill on our state.”