North Carolina is America’s most-recognizable state when it comes to tobacco production. Its place in the nation in terms of marijuana is definitely not as prominent.
A house panel rejected a proposal in March that would have legalized medicinal marijuana in the state, and like many other states in the south, it continues to have a negative view toward the drug. But like many others that don’t allow it, there has been significant progress by those looking to get weed legalized in some fashion.
Politicians in the state have offered their thoughts on the issue. Here are six of the most noteworthy ones.
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1. “For those in the room speaking today, this is huge – that you’re even here allowed to speak before the Judiciary I Committee. That’s a big step. It’s not a defeat.”
Rep. Becky Carney (D-Charlotte) told supporters of her bill to legalize medicinal marijuana that their voices were being heard much more than two years earlier.
Then, the House Rules Committee denied similar legislation, according to the Charlotte News & Observer.
2. “It’s an inevitable thing. Trying to stop that movement reminds me of somebody marching out to the beach, holding up their hand and saying the tide will not rise.”
Rep. Kelly Alexander (D-Mecklenburg) told the Daily Tarheel at the University of North Carolina that his proposals to amend the state constitution had not been successful and likely wouldn’t be in 2014, either.
3. "If you start playing with this ... then you start getting into other things.”
Sen. Jeff Tarte (R-Mecklenburg) told WSOC-TV that granting access to medical marijuana would lead to recreational use.
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4. “It becomes almost impossible to divert any of this product into the black market because every step of the process you are following a plant.”
Alexander told WSOC-TV that he had refined his legislation and was including regulations to track plants from production to sale, potentially reducing on-the-street sales.
5. “We’ve decided to pull the bill at this time.”
Alexander recognized that his bill was going to meet defeat in March 2015, according to Time Warner Cable News, so he decided to take it off the table.
6. “Obviously, the stories are heart wrenching, and I couldn't even begin to put myself into the situations that people find themselves in. But that's a different issue that we have to balance with the policies of drugs in the state.”
Rep. Dean Arp (R-Union County) was on the legislative committee that turned down a medical marijuana proposal, according to WUNC radio. He said he worried about employers’ rights to have drug-free workers.
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