A state advisory council is recommending that North Carolina lawmakers legalize marijuana through a tightly regulated system that would allow retail sales to adults — a shift that the group says will make consumption safer and bring millions of dollars in revenue to the state.
Marijuana is illegal under federal law, but dozens of U.S. states have legalized it. And nearly all states have legalized medical marijuana prescriptions for certain ailments. North Carolina is among the remaining states to resist any form of legalization.
As a result, billions of dollars are spent on illegal pot, according to a new report by the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis. And other unregulated cannabis products are being manufactured to get people high, regardless of laws intended to stop that.
“Intoxicating cannabinoid products are already widely available across North Carolina,” the council says in its report, which was released this week. “The state now faces a choice about whether to continue allowing this marketplace to operate without comprehensive oversight or to establish a regulatory framework designed to protect the health, safety, and well-being of North Carolinians.”
The group — formed by Gov. Josh Stein and made up of law enforcement officials, bipartisan lawmakers, health experts, farming interests and others — says a regulated market that allows licensed retail sales of such products to adults will lead to better oversight, enforcement and consumer safety. A final report with more detailed recommendations is expected later this year.
Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, which is illegal in North Carolina. Hemp and marijuana both contain THC, but hemp is legal in the state because it contains THC at far lower levels than marijuana does — enough to impart some side-effects that users seek out, but not enough to get people high.
But some growers and manufacturers have figured out how to extract THC from hemp plants and introduce products into the marketplace touting the legal substance they do contain — cannabidiol, or CBD — but may possess enough THC to get someone high. Those products don’t face the same labeling requirements as other drugs and, officials say, are easily available at vape shops and convenience stores throughout the state. They are often marketed as legal alternatives to marijuana but are sold without consistent statewide standards for manufacturing, testing, labeling, packaging or age verification. Some shops sell these products to minors, officials say.
Attaching more regulations to the industry — including making those products available only to adults — would protect consumers while aiming to keep the products out of the hands of minors, officials say.
The council is recommending that lawmakers adopt a unified approach to regulating hemp and intoxicating cannabidiol products to reduce confusion over enforcement and compliance. The group said it was important to include protections for medical users, but it makes a case for avoiding a regulatory framework that restricts use to medical consumers only.
“The costs of establishing a stand-alone medical cannabis program would likely be substantial and require significant state investment in agency infrastructure and oversight, physician education and certification, law enforcement training, compliance systems, and ongoing administrative support,” the report says. “These are not minor expenditures and represent the creation of an entirely new regulatory framework.”
The council added that restricting use to medical consumers “could fuel an already robust illicit market, without regulation to ensure consumer safety.”
Stein, a Democrat, has described the current patchwork of laws around marijuana and hemp and unregulated cannabis products as the “wild West.” He told WRAL last year that he supports the recreational use of marijuana and other intoxicating THC products by adults — a position that is likely to face opposition from Republican lawmakers.
He has advocated for making those products available only to people 21 and older and a cannabis regulating agency similar to the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control System, which controls the sale of liquor and requires bottles to list alcohol content and ingredients.
Legalization and regulation would also enable the state to collect tax revenue associated with sales of cannabis products. States that have chosen to regulate adult-use cannabis have generated between $33 million and $552 million in annual tax revenue, the council said in its report. That revenue could be used for enforcement and public health education campaigns.
Lawmakers have introduced several proposals in recent years — including bills to crack down on unregulated cannabis products or to legalize medical marijuana — but none have passed both chambers of the General Assembly. Any move toward legalization would require approval from the Republican-led legislature, where views remain divided.
An adult-use legalization proposal, the Marijuana Legalization and Reinvestment Act, supported by Democratic lawmakers and Stein, was filed in March 2025. It would legalize possession and regulated use for adults 21 and older, set a 30% excise tax on cannabis sales with additional local taxing options, allow limited home cultivation and direct tax revenue into community reinvestment and public health programs. It also includes automatic expungement of past cannabis convictions and social equity provisions designed to help communities disproportionately impacted by prohibition.
A separate bill, the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act, proposed tightly regulated medical cannabis for patients with health conditions. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bill Raben, R-Brunswick, passed the Senate in 2022 but stalled in the House.
Top legislative leaders, including House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger, didn’t respond to requests for comment on the advisory council’s recommendations.
Stein is hoping this report will push the General Assembly to act during the short session that begins this month.
“Let’s get this right,” Stein said in a statement this week. “Let’s protect our kids and create a safe, legal, and well-regulated market for adults.”
WRAL state government reporter Will Doran contributed to this report.
