RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) – North Carolina will once again ban hemp and CBD in North Carolina on July 1 as the bill to permanently legalize them sits in Senate’s rules committee. That is, unless lawmakers move quickly.
The state Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 455, which would permanently legalize hemp and CBD, on May 5. The House was not totally behind the hemp bill, passing it by a vote of 86-25 on June 1. Among those 25 N.C. House Republicans voting nay were House Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Sarah Stevens, who represents Surry, Wilkes and Alleghany counties, Rep. John Faircloth of Guilford County, Pat Hurley of Randolph County and Ben Moss of Montgomery County.
The last stamp of approval needed was Gov. Roy Coopers, but, before it could get there, the bill was referred to the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate where it has stayed since June 2.
North Carolina introduced the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Pilot Program in 2015 after hemp farming became legal under federal law in 2014. Since then, about 1,500 hemp growers and more than 1,200 processors in North Carolina have set up in the Tar Heel State. But, as the name implies, North Carolina has looked at this as a temporary pilot program, and it’s scheduled to end Thursday, June 30.
