North Carolina HB 1011: NC Compassionate Care Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1011

Short Title: NC Compassionate Care Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Dew.
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 16, 2025
*H1011-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT ENACTING THE NORTH CAROLINA COMPASSIONATE CARE ACT. 2
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3
SECTION 1. Chapter 90 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 4
to read: 5
"Article 5H. 6
"North Carolina Compassionate Care Act. 7
"§ 90-113.110. Short title. 8
This Article shall be known and may be cited as the "North Carolina Compassionate Care 9
Act." 10
"§ 90-113.111. Legislative findings and purpose. 11
The General Assembly makes the following findings: 12
(1) Modern medical research has found that cannabis and cannabinoid 13
compounds are effective at alleviating pain, nausea, and other symptoms 14
associated with several debilitating medical conditions. 15
(2) As of January 2023, more than a majority of states, four out of five 16
permanently inhabited United States territories, and the District of Columbia 17
have removed state-level criminal penalties for the medical use, cultivation, 18
and distribution of cannabis, and in enacting this Article, North Carolina now 19
takes similar action to preserve and enhance the health and welfare of its 20
citizens. 21
(3) This Article is intended to make only those changes to existing North Carolina 22
laws that are necessary to protect patients and their doctors from criminal and 23
civil penalties and is not intended to change current civil and criminal laws 24
governing the use of cannabis for nonmedical purposes. 25
(4) The General Assembly enacts this Article pursuant to its police power to enact 26
legislation for the protection of the health of its citizens, as reserved to the 27
State in the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. 28
(5) It is the intent of the General Assembly to prioritize the protection of public 29
health and safety in the creation of a system for the cultivation, processing, 30
and selling of medical cannabis. 31
(6) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the regulatory system created by 32
this Article be nimble and able to respond quickly to changes in the 33
rapidly-evolving cannabis industry. 34
"§ 90-113.112. Definitions. 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1011-First Edition
The following definitions apply in this Article: 1
(1) Adequate supply. – An amount, as determined by the qualified patient's 2
physician, of usable cannabis derived solely from an intrastate source that is 3
possessed by a qualified patient, or collectively possessed by a qualified 4
patient and the qualified patient's designated caregiver, in an amount that does 5
not exceed what is reasonably necessary to assure the uninterrupted 6
availability of cannabis for a period of 30 days, in any form recommended by 7
the qualified patient's physician for the purpose of alleviating the symptoms 8
or effects of the qualified patient's debilitating medical condition. 9
(2) Advisory Board. – The Compassionate Use Advisory Board established in 10
G.S. 90-113.113. 11
(3) Bona fide physician-patient relationship. – A treatment relationship between 12
a physician and a patient in which the physician has completed a full 13
assessment of the patient's medical history, including checking the patient's 14
prescription history in the Controlled Substances Reporting System, and 15
current medical condition, including an in-person physical examination, and 16
the physician is available or offers to provide follow-up care and treatment to 17
the patient, including patient examinations, to determine the efficacy of the 18
use of cannabis as a treatment for the patient's medical condition. 19
(4) Cannabis. – Marijuana as defined in G.S. 90-87(16). 20
(5) Cannabis-infused product. – A product infused with cannabis that is intended 21
for use or consumption other than by inhalation, smoking, or vaping. The term 22
includes a tablet, a capsule, a concentrated liquid or viscous oil, a liquid 23
suspension, a topical preparation, a transdermal preparation, a sublingual 24
preparation, a gelatinous cube, a gelatinous rectangular cuboid, a lozenge in a 25
cube or rectangular cuboid shape, a resin, or a wax. 26
(6) Commission. – The Medical Cannabis Production Commission established in 27
G.S. 90-113.118. 28
(7) Debilitating medical condition. – A diagnosis of one or more of the following 29
for which a physician provides a written certification: 30
a. Cancer. 31
b. Epilepsy. 32
c. Positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). 33
d. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). 34
e. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). 35
f. Crohn's disease. 36
g. Sickle cell anemia. 37
h. Parkinson's disease. 38
i. Post-traumatic stress disorder, subject to evidence that