North Carolina Legalization Bill Includes Expungement, Home Grow

A bill proposed in North Carolina would legalize cannabis for adult use and expunge prior cannabis-related convictions, WSOC-TV reports. The measure includes a 20% excise tax on cannabis sales and allows municipalities to enact an additional 3% tax. 

Funds derived from cannabis sales would be split into new and existing programs, including: 25% to a Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund created by the bill; 10% to a Social Equity Fund created by the bill; 3% to a Cannabis Education and Technical Assistance Fund created by the bill; 7% to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for evidence-based, voluntary programs for substance abuse treatment or prevention; 2% to DHHS for a public education campaign for youth and adults about the health and safety risks of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and other substances; 2% to DHHS for cannabis research; and up to 1% to the Department of Public Safety for advanced impaired driving enforcement and drug recognition training. 

The remaining 50% of tax revenues would be directed to the state’s general fund.  

Under the measure, adults could possess up to 2 ounces of flower, 15 grams of concentrates, and cultivate six plants. The measure would also allow people on parole and probation to consume cannabis as long as it would not create a danger to them or another person.  

The bill is sponsored by seven Democratic senators who said in a statement that cannabis prohibition has been a “wasteful and destructive failure” that “has had an unfair, disparate impact on persons and communities of color” and “diverts law enforcement resources from violent and property crimes.” 

Earlier this month, the North Carolina Senate approved a medical cannabis bill for the second year in a row.