North Carolina Gov. Creates Advisory Council to Explore Cannabis Reforms

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) on Tuesday expressed support for
decriminalizing cannabis in the state while announcing the creation of an
advisory council on cannabis policy during an interview with WRAL News.
Stein indicated the council would help develop a “smart sound policy
response to what’s going on in the real world,” noting he was concerned by
the ability of children to access intoxicating hemp-derived products, the
lack of labeling requirements, and the obfuscation of THC content in
products currently available in the state, which he described as “the wild,
wild, West.”

“… Right now it’s so unregulated, it’s a chaotic market,” the governor said
in the interview, “but I wanna take it piece by piece.”

During the interview, Stein voiced support for adult-use legalization in
the state but expressed concerns for both children and adults who are
buying intoxicating hemp-derived products, which have little to no
oversight in the state currently, and that he wants to “bring order to the
market.”

“The idea that we have a system where this product, which is a drug that
can get you high, is for sale out there without any restrictions on how
it’s sold to me is insane. With alcohol – I believe adults should be able
to drink alcohol if they choose – but we have a system that ensures that
we’re protecting kids. You cannot be under 21.” — Stein to WRAL News

Stein argued that North Carolina, despite not having an adult-use cannabis
program, is “the most liberal, pro marijuana, adult use state in the
country” because there are “no rules whatsoever” on THC products derived
from hemp, which he described as “unacceptable.”

“You’ve had the House that’s been trying to wrestle with the vape shops.
You have the Senate that’s been looking at the issue of medical marijuana,
and they’ve been in conflict,” Stein said. “And so part of what I want this
advisory council to do is to get all of the stakeholders around the table
together, Republican and Democratic legislators on the House side,
Republican and Democratic legislators on the Senate side, public health
folks, public safety folks … we want everybody to come together to say what
should it look like in North Carolina.”

During the interview, Stein also expressed support for criminal justice
reforms related to cannabis convictions, which he called “an anchor that
they’re carrying on their shoulder for the rest of their lives” which
impacts job, housing, and education prospects.

“We should be decriminalizing it … well I wanna go to the next level where
if you use it it’s not a crime at all,” he said, “but for people who have
this criminal record we should have a process to expunge those criminal
records so that you’re not hampered for what is a product that today is
available down the street.”