It was on Wednesday that a House committee in North Carolina voted to classify smokable hemp as a controlled substance.
Two House committees had debated on smokable hemp this week. The Finance committee considered the annual Farm Act and the Judiciary committee debated changes to the state’s Controlled Substances Act.
A rewrite to Senate Bill 352 would change the definition of marijuana in state statutes to include smokable hemp while processed hemp products and extracts such as CBD oil would remain legal in North Carolina.
“This bill does not prevent a licensed grower from growing, handling, selling [or] transporting and product that they can produce,” said Rep. Jimmy Dixon
He added, “The only thing it does is that it prohibits consumption of smokable hemp, with the exception of the CBD oil.”
“As long as smokable hemp is legal for use and sale in North Carolina, marijuana laws are virtually unenforceable,” Fred Baggett, legal counsel for the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, said to House Finance committee members.
“It creates insurmountable barriers to enforcement,” said Mike Waters, district attorney for Granville, Franklin, Vance and Warren counties.
“If this bill passes without the ban, we will put 800 of our law enforcement dogs and their handlers out of business,” Dixon said.
