The governor of North Carolina is reiterating his support for legalizing marijuana, stressing the need to create a regulated cannabis program to mitigate the risks associated with products in the intoxicating hemp market.
"Today, all across North Carolina, there are unregulated THC products that are intoxicating available for purchase," Gov. Josh Stein (D) said in a video posted on X on Wednesday, referencing consumable hemp products sold at retailers with little oversight or quality control standards.
"All you have to do is just walk into any vape shop and you'll see there is no legal minimum age to purchase these products, which means that kids are able to and are buying them without any enforceable labeling requirements," he said. "Adults are using them recreationally without having any idea what's in them or how much THC there is."
"Our state's unregulated cannabis market is the Wild West, and it is crying out for order," the governor said, adding that's the reason he signed an executive order last week creating a bipartisan commission to study cannabis legalization in hopes of moving the GOP-controlled legislature to act on reform.
Read more at Marijuana Moment