Voters in North Carolina could decide the future of marijuana after Senate Democrat Kandie Smith of Greenville and two colleagues introduced Senate Bill 1072 on Monday.
The legislation is intended to bypass years of legislative gridlock by placing two constitutional amendments directly on the November ballot. If passed, voters would choose whether to decriminalize possession of limited amounts of marijuana for personal use, as well as for medical use by patients with qualifying conditions.
While the bill doesn't set specific possession limits or create a dispensary system, a "yes" vote would force the General Assembly to build a legal framework for a regulated market.
Sponsors say it’s time to let the people decide, citing polls that show more than 70 percent of North Carolinians now support some form of legalization.
