Here’s the op-ed I wrote, posted December 24, 2024 9:36 AM at https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article297404669.html;https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/article297404669.html?tbref=hp;https://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/article297404669.html;

https://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/article297404669.html;

printed in the Raleigh News and Observer, Charlotte Observer, and Durham Herald Sun Christmas day editions.)

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Loophole lets kids buy THC in NC. A Republican stalemate is stalling a fix | Opinion

Patrick OglesbyUpdated December 24, 2024 9:36 AM

Teenagers in North Carolina today can get legally stoned on THC, the intoxicant in marijuana. Thanks to a federal loophole and our General Assembly’s inaction, hemp stores, CBD stores, vape shops, smoke shops, convenience stores and gas stations will sell kids THC at pocket-money prices. While Congress remains impotent, as usual, our state Republican legislators could solve this problem for North Carolina — if they could get out of their own way.

“Congress Accidentally Legalized Weed Six Years Ago,” declared the Atlantic in mid-2024. Attempting to legalize hemp fiber but not marijuana — rope, not dope — Congress set an arbitrary THC threshold (0.3% of a product’s weight) that shrewd sellers easily circumvent. Powerful hemp THC gummies, for instance, contain enough sugar and gelatin to slip easily under that 0.3% limbo bar.

As Congress dithers, the Republican-dominated North Carolina General Assembly is deadlocked. House Bill 563, passed unanimously (110-0) in the House, aims to regulate hemp THC products with age restrictions and testing requirements. The Senate doesn’t see problems with that regulatory plan but refuses to pass H.B. 563 without including proposals it passed 36 to 10legalizing medical marijuana — a move backed by most polled voters and taken by 38 states. The Senate is digging its heels in: No Senate medical marijuana, no House loophole closing.

House Republicans, meanwhile, have blocked a vote on medical marijuana until 37 of their 72 members support it, with cultural conservatives opposing any relaxation of marijuana laws. Ironically, there are enough votes among Republicans and Democrats to pass medical marijuana in the House, but without 37 Republican votes, the House GOP leadership hasn’t allowed the vote.

This stalemate is an internal Republican issue, as nearly all Democrats support both THC regulation and medical marijuana. Democrats even go along with the pro-big business licensing scheme in the Senate medical marijuana bill, where an appointed commission would license only 10 applicants with “expertise” and enough capital to grow all their own plants, process all their own products and operate their own network of retail stores — and to have all those facilities tied down in advance. Moneyed out-of-state operators have lobbied for the Senate’s bill and are ready to pounce.

North Carolina’s Democrats are reluctant to be seen opposing any marijuana liberalization — so reluctant that they will let the Senate bill’s new corporate oligopolists grab all that new wealth.

So we’re stuck. Democrats will follow wherever Republicans lead — loophole closer alone, House-style, or loophole closer plus medical marijuana, Senate-style. We’re witnessing a political tug-of-war within the GOP, with North Carolina’s public health hanging in the balance.

Let’s be clear. THC is far from North Carolina’s biggest problem. It’s not even our biggest drug problem — that dubious distinction goes to opioids like fentanyl. But North Carolina parents whose underage kids buy THC are mere spectators to an all-Republican power struggle. So are medical marijuana patients who can buy products at THC stores — but without testing rules or enforcement, they can’t be sure what they’re actually getting. They still can’t find a law-abiding North Carolina doctor to advise them on their needs.

Either House Republicans are wrong for thwarting both the people’s will and the full House majority on medical marijuana, or Senate Republicans are wrong for holding a good governance bill hostage. 

Who’s right? If outnumbered Democrats interfere in this Republican family dispute, they might just stiffen the resolve of the side they criticize. So it’s up to Republicans. If they can’t break their gridlock and keep drugs away from kids, shame on them. North Carolina’s children and families deserve better than this legislative paralysis. 

Patrick Oglesby is a Chapel Hill lawyer and consultant for state governments on marijuana policy

This story was originally published December 24, 2024 at 5:00 AM.