The Republican controlled North Carolina General Assembly had a committee hearing this week where there was near unanimous approval for medical marijuana.
The vote on Wednesday was the first of potentially many votes towards making medical marijuana legal in the state.
The votes were not officially recorded but it appeared that every Democrat voted for it, as did all but two or three Republicans.
Sen. Bill Rabon, an influential committee chairman, was the sponsor of the bill.
One vote in favor of the bill came from Senate Majority Leader Kathy Harrington, a Gastonia Republican. According to Harrington, her husband was recently diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, and she has since come to realize that medical marijuana could help other patients in similar situations.
“If you had asked me six months ago if I would support this bill, I would have said no,” Harrington said. “But life comes at you fast.”
North Carolina doctors would be able to prescribe marijuana for various conditions if the bill becomes a law. This includes PTSD, cancer, sickle cell anemia, ALS and several other specific health problems. Lawmakers had initially included glaucoma but deleted it Wednesday.
“I’ve been quite moved by this because of my personal experiences,” Rabon said, who is a cancer survivor. “At times it has been difficult for me to talk to some people about that. But I will say that the time has come. This needs to be discussed. We need to compassionately care for our fellow man.”
