Charlotte representative files bill to legalize marijuana in North Carolina

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Representative Jordan Lopez filed a bill with the North Carolina General Assembly on Monday to legalize marijuana.

The proposed bill is entitled “An Act to Legalize and Regulate the Sale, Possession, and Use of Cannabis in North Carolina.” It would make cannabis usage legal for those over the age of 21 and proposes a system of licensing, regulation and taxation.

It compares cannabis prohibition to alcohol prohibition, calling it a “wasteful and destructive failure.” The bill also claims that about half of Americans have said they have used cannabis.

Lopez proposes a well-regulated market that he said will replace an illicit, uncontrolled market, saying this will provide more protection for all involved.

The bill continues calling the prohibition of cannabis unfair as it disproportionately affects communities of color. Black and white communities use cannabis products at nearly identical rates, the bill says, but black individuals are more than three times more likely to be arrested for cannabis usage.

The bill also claims the prohibition of cannabis diverts law enforcement from more important issues and keeps the State from thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in revenue.

Lopez represents District 112 in the North Carolina General Assembly. He said a conversation about marijuana legalization is “long overdue.”

As comments accumulated under an X post by Channel 9′s Joe Bruno, Lopez responded.

“A lot of mixed reactions, as to be expected, but a majority of North Carolinians want to see marijuana legalized, either recreationally and/or medically. While I clearly support the former, this conversation is still long overdue!” he said in a post on X.

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