NC Medical Cannabis Proposal Denied for Third Consecutive Year While Florida Adult-Use Legalization Ballot Measure Gains Momentum

The two results reveal a significant disconnect between the people's will and the actions of their elected state officials.

Cannabis legalization reform has taken numerous forms in the past 15 years as states slowly began to erode the prohibition status of marijuana in the United States. Early on, states like Colorado and Washington passed reform initiatives through voter-approved ballot measures. 

Most successful legalization efforts in America have, in fact, come directly from the people rather than the traditional route of legislative work by politicians at the state level. Of the 24 states with legal and regulated adult-use marijuana, only nine enacted statutes through their respective state legislatures, while the remaining 15 approved measures via the ballot box. Below is a list of those states and the margin of approval achieved on Election Day. 

State % of Voter Approval State % of Voter Approval

New Jersey 67% Colorado 55%

Maryland 67% Nevada 54%

Arizona 60% Massachusetts 54%

Ohio 57% Missouri 53%

Montana 57% Alaska 53%

California 57% Maine 50%

Washington 56%

Michigan 56%

Oregon 56%

However, in recent years, state legislatures have taken a more aggressive lead in writing and passing measures aimed at establishing legal recreational cannabis markets for their states.

Some, like Minnesota and New York, used the opportunity to include social equity provisions designed to give priority to those individuals and communities most decimated by the ill-conceived and even worse executed "War on Drugs," particularly among African American and Latino populations.

North Carolina and Florida are two states currently trying to pass cannabis reform measures. Both represent distinctive approaches to the challenging issue and highlight the difficulty of achieving success through legislation or ballot initiatives. 

As first reported by MJBizDaily, for the third straight legislative session, North Carolina lawmakers have tried and failed to pass an extremely conservative and popular (among voters) medical marijuana program. In the past two attempts, lawmakers tried to pass standalone bills. However, the bill died in the House each time before even getting a floor vote.

This time, committee members adopted an amendment offered by Sen. Michael Lazzara (R), with language enabling doctors to recommend medical cannabis to patients with specific qualifying conditions, adding it to a new hemp regulation bill.

Under the amendment, doctors would have been able to prescribe cannabis to patients if they have a "debilitating medical condition" such as cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Likewise, as part of their treatment, they would also have been allowed to smoke and vape prescribed cannabis products.

Despite once again receiving approval in the NC Senate, the bill was not called for a vote in the House due to partisan solid opposition. "It is a gateway drug, which causes impairment as its primary function and results in addiction," state Rep. Mark Pless said.

"It is a gateway drug, which causes impairment as its primary function and results in addiction."

- NC State Rep. Mark Pless

The proposed measure could be reconsidered when lawmakers return from adjournment on July 10. However, industry watchers and political analysts believe the idea of establishing North Carolina's first medical marijuana program is dead until next year's legislative session.

In contrast, cannabis reform advocates in Florida received a jolt of promising news regarding the state's third attempt at passing a ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis in the Sunshine State. 

With the previous two efforts not even making it to the ballot, the third campaign launched by the "Smart & Safe Florida" political committee could be the best chance for cannabis legalization proponents to finally establish a legal recreational market in the traditionally conservative state.

According to numerous local and national media outlets, a new poll reported by Florida Politics shows that over 64% of likely voters support the ballot measure (Amendment 3). That number indicates a relatively comfortable margin of error for supporters of the initiative, which needs 60% of the vote to pass this November.

There is considerable political opposition to the ballot measure, most notably from Governor Ron Desantis, who recently vetoed a bill to establish new regulatory guidelines and restrictions for the state's young hemp industry in hopes of garnering money and support from hemp stakeholders to defeat Amendment 3. However, he has only raised a paltry $10,000 to combat the "Smart and Safe Florida Campaign," which has spent over $60 million.

While several months remain, and voters could be swayed in either direction between now and Election Day, the numbers and sentiments seem to be moving toward legalization as November nears. If passed, the amendment to the state's Constitution would make Florida the 25th one to enact adult-use cannabis reform, meaning a substantial majority of Americans would live in a legal cannabis state for the first time.

The glaring disparity between legislative efforts to pass marijuana reform laws and those achieved via ballot-based measures demonstrates yet another example of tone-deafness on the part of elected officials at the state level.

With poll after poll indicating a substantial majority of Americans approve of legal weed, regardless of political affiliation, state lawmakers may need to take a good, long, and hard look at their priorities when it comes to cannabis legalization. 

Prohibition is coming to an end. Those lawmakers who are savvy and intelligent enough to see the coming change and adapt to it could be the ones to survive the growing political fallout from the federal ban. Those who don't may be looking for a new job in November.