NC Senate Republicans send their House colleagues a message on medical marijuana

Nearly four months after the North Carolina Senate passed its medical marijuana bill, the bipartisan legislation continues to languish in the House.

Now, as lawmakers approach the end of session, one of the bill’s chief supporters, Republican Sen. Bill Rabon, is trying a seemingly novel approach to get it moving in the House and have it cross the finish line this year.

During Wednesday’s Senate session, Rabon, the chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, proposed an amendment to a House bill that was on the calendar. The mostly technical bill, which has to do with physician assistants, is sponsored by four of the five chairs of the House Health Committee.

The amendment Rabon proposed on Wednesday states that the House bill would go into effect “only if, and on the date that, Senate Bill 3, 2023 Regular Session, becomes law.”

By a bipartisan margin of 35 to 8, the Senate approved Rabon’s amendment, before approving the bill itself. Senators had a little fun with the amendment during a brief debate.

“This is my favorite amendment of the whole session,” Sen. Mike Woodard, a Durham Democrat, said to laughs from the chamber.

Sen. Paul Lowe, a Forsyth County Democrat who is another primary sponsor of the medical marijuana bill along with Rabon, said he thought it was “a very fine amendment.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Jim Burgin, a Harnett County Republican who opposed the bill and voted against it, said to laughs from the chamber that “in the spirit of being fair and balanced, I have to disagree with my colleagues.”