North Carolina SB 350: Charlotte Property Disposition.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 350

Short Title: Marijuana Justice and Reinvestment Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Meyer, Chaudhuri, and Murdock (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 20, 2025
*S350-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO LEGALIZE AND REGULATE THE SALE, POSSESSION, AND USE OF 2
CANNABIS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
5
PART I. LEGALIZATION OF POSSESSION AND SALE OF CANNABIS 6
SECTION 1.1.(a) The General Statutes are amended by adding a new Chapter to 7
read: 8
"Chapter 18D. 9
"Regulation of Cannabis. 10
"Article 1. 11
"General Provisions. 12
"§ 18D-100. Findings. 13
The General Assembly finds all of the following: 14
(1) Cannabis prohibition, like alcohol prohibition before it, has been a wasteful 15
and destructive failure. About half of Americans admit to having used 16
cannabis despite more than eight decades of prohibition. 17
(2) Regulating cannabis similarly to alcohol will replace the uncontrolled illicit 18
market with a well-regulated system. Legalization allows regulation and 19
control to protect consumers, workers, communities, and the environment. 20
(3) The prohibition of cannabis has had an unfair, disparate impact on persons 21
and communities of color. A 2020 report by the American Civil Liberties 22
Union found black individuals are three and six-tenths times as likely as white 23
individuals to be arrested for cannabis possession, despite nearly identical use 24
rates. 25
(4) The prohibition of cannabis diverts law enforcement resources from violent 26
and property crimes and subjects civilians to unnecessary police interactions. 27
(5) Keeping cannabis illegal deprives the State of thousands of legal jobs and 28
hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue. 29
(6) The use of cannabis should be legal for persons 21 years of age or older and 30
subject to taxation and regulation in a manner that does all of the following: 31
a. Controls the production and distribution of cannabis under a system of 32
licensing, regulation, and taxation. 33
b. Includes lab testing, potency labeling, secure packaging, restrictions 34
on advertising, and education about responsible use and risks. 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 350-First Edition
c. Fosters a responsible industry, whereby businesses will only be 1
allowed to expand if they prioritize diversity, good wages, 2
sustainability, and community investment. 3
d. Promotes the participation of individuals most impacted by cannabis 4
prohibition in the legal, regulated industry. 5
e. Generates needed revenue, including to reinvest in communities that 6
have been disproportionately impacted by prohibition, for substance 7
abuse treatment and education, and to train more law enforcement 8
officers to detect impaired driving. 9
(7) It is necessary to ensure consistency and fairness in the application of this 10
Chapter throughout the State and that, therefore, the matters addressed by this 11
Chapter are, except as specified herein, matters of statewide concern. 12
"§ 18D-101. Definitions. 13
Unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply in this Chapter: 14
(1) Cannabis. – All parts of the plant of the genus cannabis, the seeds thereof, the 15
resin extracted from any part of the plant, and every compound, manufacture, 16
salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or its resin, 17
including cannabis concentrate. "Cannabis" does not include hemp, nor does 18
it include fiber produced from the stalks, oil, or cake made from the seeds of 19
the plant, or sterilized seed of the plant, which is incapable of germination. 20
(2) Cannabis accessories. – Any equipment, products, or materials of any kind 21
that are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, 22
cultivating, growing, harvesting, composting, manufacturing, compounding, 23
converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, 24
repackaging, storing, vaporizing, or containing cannabis, or for ingesting, 25
inhaling, or otherwise introducing cannabis into the human body. 26
(3) Cannabis cultivation facility. – An entity registered to cultivate, prepare, and 27
package cannabis, and sell cannabis to other cannabis establishments. A 28
cannabis cultivation facility may not produce cannabis concentrates, tinctures, 29
extracts, or other cannabis products unless it is also licensed as a cannabis 30
product manufacturing facility. 31
(4) Cannabis establishment. – A cannabis cultivation facility, an on-site 32
consumption establishment, a cannabis testing facility, a cannabis product 33
manufacturing facility, a cannabis transporter, or any other type of cannabis 34
business authorized and registered by the Commission. 35
(5) Cannabis product manufacturing facility. – An entity registered to purchase 36
cannabis, manufacture, prepare, and package can