FILED SENATE
May 23, 2022
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
S.B. 765
SESSION 2021 PRINCIPAL CLERK
S D
SENATE BILL DRS45498-MLxf-140
Short Title: Marijuana Legalization & Regulation. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Fitch (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO LEGALIZE AND REGULATE THE SALE, POSSESSION, AND USE OF
3 MARIJUANA IN NORTH CAROLINA.
4 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
5
6 PART I. CREATION OF CANNABIS EQUITY REINVESTMENT BOARD
7 SECTION 1.1. Article 10 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by
8 adding a new Part to read:
9 "Part 23. Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board.
10 "§ 143B-472.129. Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board; purpose; membership; quorum;
11 meetings.
12 (a) There is established the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board (Board). The Board
13 shall be administratively located within the Department of Commerce. The purpose of the Board
14 is to directly address the impact of economic disinvestment, violence, and historical overuse of
15 criminal justice responses to community and individual needs by providing resources to support
16 local design and control of community-based responses to such impacts.
17 (b) The Board shall have a total membership of 20 members that shall consist of 13
18 nonlegislative citizen members and seven ex officio members. Nonlegislative citizen members
19 shall be appointed as follows: three to be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate,
20 one of whom shall be a person who has been previously incarcerated or convicted of a
21 marijuana-related offense, one of whom shall be an expert in the field of public health with
22 experience in trauma-informed care, if possible, and one of whom shall be an expert in education
23 with a focus on access to opportunities for youth in underserved communities; three to be
24 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be an expert on
25 the State's foster care system, one of whom shall be an expert in workforce development, and
26 one of whom shall be a representative from one of the State's historically black colleges and
27 universities; and seven to be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General
28 Assembly, one of whom shall be a veteran, one of whom shall be an entrepreneur with expertise
29 in emerging industries or access to capital for small businesses, one of whom shall be a
30 representative from the Office of Indigent Defense Services, and four of whom shall be
31 community-based providers or community development organization representatives who
32 provide services to address the social determinants of health and promote community investment
33 in communities adversely and disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibitions, including
34 services such as workforce development, youth mentoring and educational services, job training
35 and placement services, and reentry services. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be citizens of
36 the State and reflect the racial, ethnic, gender, and geographic diversity of the State.
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1 (c) The Secretaries of Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, and Public
2 Safety, the Chair of the NCWorks Commission, and the Attorney General, or their designees,
3 shall serve ex officio with voting privileges. The Chairman of the North Carolina Cannabis
4 Control Commission, or the Chairman's designee shall serve ex officio without voting privileges.
5 (d) Ex officio members of the Board shall serve terms coincident with their terms of
6 office. The initial terms of nonlegislative citizen members shall be staggered. After the initial
7 staggering of terms, all nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of four years.
8 Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired
9 terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. All members
10 may be reappointed.
11 (e) The Board shall be chaired by the Secretary of Commerce, or the Secretary's designee.
12 The Board shall select a vice-chairman from among its membership.
13 (f) A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum.
14 (g) The Board shall meet at least two times each year and shall meet at the call of the
15 Chairman or whenever the majority of the members so request.
16 (h) Members of the Board shall receive per diem and necessary travel and subsistence
17 expenses in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 138-5.
18 "§ 143B-472.130. Powers and duties of the Board.
19 The Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board (Board) shall have all of the following powers and
20 duties:
21 (1) Support persons, families, and communities historically and
22 disproportionately targeted and affected by drug enforcement.
23 (2) Develop and implement scholarship programs and educational and vocational
24 resources for historically marginalized persons, including persons in foster
25 care, who have been adversely impacted by substance use individually, in their
26 families, or in their communities.
27 (3) Develop and implement a program to award grants to support workforce
28 development programs, mentoring programs, job training and placement
29 services, apprenticeships, and reentry services that serve persons and
30 communities historically and disproportionately targeted by drug
31 enforcement.
32 (4) Administer the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund established pursuant to
33 G.S. 143B-472.131.
34 (5) Collaborate with the Chairman of the North Carolina Cannabis Control
35 Commission and the Secretary of Commerce, as necessary, to implement
36 programs and provide recommendations in line with the purpose of this
37 article.
38 (6) Submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly. The
39 Chairman shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an annual
40 report detailing the interim activity and work of the Board no later than the
41 first day of each session of the regular session of the General Assembly.
42 (7) Perform such other activities and functions as the Governor and General
43 Assembly may direct.
44 "§ 143B-472.131. Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund.
45 (a) The Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund (Fund) is established as a special fund in
46 the Office of the State Treasurer. The Fund consists of appropriations by the General Assembly
47 or contributions and grants from public or private sources. The interest earned by the Fund shall
48 be credited to the Fund by the State Treasurer pursuant to G.S. 147-69.2 and G.S. 147-69.3.
49 Revenue in the Fund, including any interest earned, does not revert at the end of a fiscal year.
50 (b) Moneys in the Fund may only be used for any or all of the following purposes:
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1 (1) Supporting persons, families, and communities historically and
2 disproportionately targeted and affected by drug enforcement.
3 (2) Providing scholarship opportunities and educational and vocational resources
4 for historically marginalized persons, including persons in foster care, who
5 have been adversely impacted by substance use individually, in their families,
6 or in their communities.
7 (3) Awarding grants to support workforce development, mentoring programs, job
8 training and placement services, apprenticeships, and reentry services that
9 serve persons and communities historically and disproportionately targeted by
10 drug enforcement.
11 (4) Contributing to the Office of Indigent Defense Services established pursuant
12 to G.S. 7A-498.2.
13 (5) Contributing to the Cannabis Equity Business Loan Fund established pursuant
14 to G.S. 18D-1101.
15 (c) The State Treasurer shall disburse moneys in the Fund only upon the written direction
16 of the Chair of the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board."
17 SECTION 1.2. The initial terms of office of those persons appointed to serve as
18 nonlegislative citizen members on the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board shall be staggered
19 as follows: five persons shall be appointed for a term to expire June 30, 2026; four persons shall
20 be appointed for a term to expire June 30, 2027; and four persons shall be appointed for a term
21 to expire June 30, 2028. Thereafter, nonlegislative citizen members of the Cannabis Equity
22 Reinvestment Board shall serve for terms of four years.
23 SECTION 1.3. This Part becomes effective July 1, 2022.
24
25 PART II. CREATION OF THE NORTH CAROLINA CANNABIS CONTROL
26 COMMISSION & LEGALIZATION OF POSSESSION AND SALE OF MARIJUANA
27 SECTION 2.1. The General Statutes are amended by adding a new Chapter to read:
28 "Chapter 18D.
29 "Regulation of Marijuana.
30 "Article 1.
31 "General Provisions.
32 "§ 18D-100. Purpose of Chapter.
33 (a) This Chapter is intended to establish a uniform system of control over the sale,
34 purchase, transportation, manufacture, consumption, and possession of marijuana in North
35 Carolina, and to provide procedures to insure the proper administration of the marijuana laws
36 under a uniform system throughout the State. This Chapter shall be liberally construed to the end
37 that the sale, purchase, transportation, manufacture, consumption, and possession of marijuana
38 shall be prohibited except as authorized in this Chapter. If any provision of this Chapter, or its
39 application to any person or circumstance, is determined by a court or other authority of
40 competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such provision shall be stricken and the
41 remaining provisions shall be construed in accordance with the intent of the General Assembly
42 to further limit rather than expand commerce in marijuana.
43 (b) Except as provided in this Chapter, local ordinances establishing different rules on
44 the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, consumption, or other use of
45 marijuana, or requiring additional permits or fees, are prohibited.
46 "§ 18D-101. Definitions.
47 Unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply in this Chapter:
48 (1) Advertisement or advertising. – Any written or verbal statement, illustration,
49 or depiction that is calculated to induce sales of retail marijuana, retail
50 marijuana products, marijuana plants, or marijuana seeds, including any
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1 written, printed, graphic, digital, electronic, or other material, billboard, sign,
2 or other outdoor display, publication, or radio or television broadcast.
3 (2) Board. – The Board of Directors of the North Carolina Cannabis Control
4 Commission.
5 (3) Cannabis. – Has the same meaning as marijuana.
6 (4) Commission. – The North Carolina Cannabis Control Commission
7 established under this Chapter.
8 (5) Child-resistant. – Packaging or a container (i) specially designed or
9 constructed to be significantly difficult for a typical child under five years of
10 age to open and not to be significantly difficult for a typical adult to open and
11 reseal and (ii) for any product intended for more than a single use or that
12 contains multiple servings, resealable.
13 (6) Cultivation or cultivate. – The planting, propagation, growing, harvesting,
14 drying, curing, grading, trimming, or other similar processing of marijuana for
15 use or sale. This term does not include manufacturing or testing.
16 (7) Edible marijuana product. – A marijuana product intended to be consumed
17 orally, including marijuana intended to be consumed orally or marijuana
18 concentrate intended to be consumed orally.
19 (8) Immature plant. – A nonflowering marijuana plant that is no taller than eight
20 inches and no wider than eight inches, is produced from a cutting, clipping, or
21 seedling, and is growing in a container.
22 (9) Licensed. – The holding of a valid license granted by the Commission.
23 (10) Licensee. – Any person to whom a license has been granted by the
24 Commission.
25 (11) Manufacturing or manufactured. – The production of marijuana products or
26 the blending, infusing, compounding, or other preparation of marijuana and
27 marijuana products, including marijuana extraction or preparation by means
28 of chemical synthesis. This term does not include cultivation or testing.
29 (12) Marijuana. – Any part of a plant of the genus Cannabis, whether growing or
30 not, its seeds or resin; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative,
31 mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds, its resin, or any extract
32 containing one or more cannabinoids. This term does not include the mature
33 stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalk, or oil or cake made from
34 the seed of such plant, unless such stalks, fiber, oil, or cake is combined with
35 other parts of plants of the genus Cannabis. This term also does not include (i)
36 industrial hemp, as defined in Article 50F of Chapter 106 of the General
37 Statutes, that is possessed by a person registered pursuant to Article 50F of
38 Chapter 106 of the General Statutes or the person's agent or (ii) a hemp
39 product, as defined in Article 50F of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes,
40 containing a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no greater than
41 three-tenths of a percent (0.3%) that is derived from industrial hemp that is
42 grown, dealt, or processed in compliance with State or federal law.
43 (13) Marijuana concentrate. – Marijuana that has undergone a process to
44 concentrate one or more active cannabinoids, thereby increasing the product's
45 potency. Resin from granular trichomes from a marijuana plant is a
46 concentrate for purposes of this Chapter.
47 (14) Marijuana cultivation facility. – A facility licensed under this subtitle to
48 cultivate, label, and package retail marijuana; to purchase or take possession
49 of marijuana plants and seeds from other marijuana cultivation facilities; to
50 transfer possession of and sell retail marijuana, immature marijuana plants,
51 and marijuana seeds to marijuana wholesalers; to transfer possession of and
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1 sell retail marijuana, marijuana plants, and marijuana seeds to other marijuana
2 cultivation facilities; and to sell immature marijuana plants and marijuana
3 seeds to consumers for the purpose of cultivating marijuana at home for
4 personal use.
5 (15) Marijuana establishment. – A marijuana cultivation facility, a marijuana
6 testing facility, a marijuana manufacturing facility, a marijuana wholesaler, or
7 a retail marijuana store.
8 (16) Marijuana manufacturing facility. – A facility licensed under this subtitle to
9 purchase or take possession of retail marijuana from a marijuana cultivation
10 facility or another marijuana manufacturing facility; to manufacture, label,
11 and package retail marijuana and retail marijuana products; and to transfer
12 possession of and sell retail marijuana and retail marijuana products to
13 marijuana wholesalers or other marijuana manufacturing facilities.
14 (17) Marijuana paraphernalia. – All equipment, prod