North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) on Tuesday expressed support for decriminalizing cannabis in the state while announcing the creation of an advisory council on cannabis policy during an interview with WRAL News. Stein indicated the council would help develop a "smart sound policy response to what's going on in the real world," noting he was concerned by the ability of children to access intoxicating hemp-derived products, the lack of labeling requirements, and the obfuscation of THC content in products currently available in the state, which he described as "the wild, wild, West."
"… Right now it's so unregulated, it's a chaotic market," the governor said in the interview, "but I wanna take it piece by piece."
During the interview, Stein voiced support for adult-use legalization in the state but expressed concerns for both children and adults who are buying intoxicating hemp-derived products, which have little to no oversight in the state currently, and that he wants to "bring order to the market."
Stein argued that North Carolina, despite not having an adult-use cannabis program, is "the most liberal, pro marijuana, adult use state in the country" because there are "no rules whatsoever" on THC products derived from hemp, which he described as "unacceptable."
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