We have a chance in North Carolina to do Cannabis legalization better than those that have come before us, let’s not mess this up.

The North Carolina Governor’s Cannabis Council has released their interim report, and they are passing their recommendation of an Adult Use Market to the legislature.  Then someone has to write a bill.  They can copy and paste mine if they would like!  Their comment portal is still open, please let them know if you agree with me!

Here’s what I think would be a great framework, please comment any changes or additions you all would like to see:

-21 and Over for All Cannabis Products, ID required.

-Non NC Resident Licence Restrictions; we do not want a bunch of aggressive players that have ruined other legal markets looking to extract as much value as they can out of North Carolina. All companies wishing to participate in the NC Adult Use Market should be NC resident owned. One of the main points of a legalization push is to stop sending NC money to illegal cartels and out of state cannabis producers; we shouldn’t legalize here and then keep sending our money out of state.

-A license should be granted to any NC resident who can demonstrate the ability to produce a safe and tested cannabis product. Licensed Hemp producers who have existed in the NC market should not be shut out of the Adult Use system because they do not have as much capital as large out of state players. Priority for licenses to grow and produce should be given to NC Hemp Producers who have demonstrated a track record of safe, effective products in North Carolina.

-No forced Vertical Integration; this allows retail cannabis shops to carry the best NC produces and gives consumers the largest choice of safe products. Forced Vertical Integration favors large producers and stifles competition and quality. The best products, even in mature legal markets, often are from smaller craft producers that struggle to compete against larger, lower quality producers. There is room in the market for mass produced commodity products and also craft, small batch products. The consumer should decide what works best for their wellness, not a cabal of producers that have boxed smaller players out of the market through regulatory shenanigans.

-Past Cannabis crimes of a non-violent nature may be expunged. There has historically been an uneven application of cannabis prohibition laws that have disproportionately affected communities of color, this is a chance to help level the playing field going forward.

-Cannabis Retail Stores should follow the same location restrictions as ABC stores; distance from schools and playgrounds, etc.

-No excessive taxes on cannabis products; if we want to bring cannabis consumers to the legal market, we have to offer safer, better products at a price that’s not way more than the illicit market. If a consumer can get better products for cheaper illegally, there’s a good chance they will keep doing that. A flat 10% sales tax on Cannabis products should be enough to fund the program, anything higher will just keep people in the black market. This is a 0% to 10% jump, on an estimated 3 billion spent in North Carolina in a year on illicit cannabis. 10% of $3,000,000,000 is Three Hundred Million Dollars. If the Adult Use market can capture just 50% of previously illicit sales, that’s $150,000,000 a year in additional tax revenue to North Carolina.

-Grower Licence Fees; no $50,000 License. Rocky River Hemp has been in business for 7 years, boot strapping our growth and paying off infrastructure buildout as we grow; we do not have $50,000 burning a hole in our balance sheet! $1,000 is plenty for a Grower License, that’s enough to support the administration of the license, and would allow smaller craft producers to exist in the free, Adult Use market. The fee only needs to be enough to ensure the producer is serious enough to get them into the system.

-Define what is acceptable in terms of public use. We can’t have people smoking joints on every sidewalk or we’ll be back to prohibition. We also cannot make it criminal to consume responsibly in public. Make violations of public consumption rules non-criminal, but meaningful. Similar to cigarette smoking areas, Cannabis consumption should be kept away from children and people who do not want to be exposed to it.

We have the opportunity to make the system here work for NC consumers, retailers and producers, make the state more revenue to help our schools and roads, and help correct historic wrongs. We cannot afford to have these laws written by the large out of state players that want to take over our market and shut our own residents out.