73 percent favor legalization in NC poll
73%.
That's the percentage of North Carolinians who favor legalization of medical cannabis, according to a poll released by Elon University last week.
54% of North Carolinians support legalization for recreational marijuana.
The favorability has increased significantly since Elon polled these views in 2017.
The vast majority of Americans live in legal states now, with about two thirds of the states in our country -- including many of the largest ones -- having legally ended the cannabis prohibition.
Our neighbor to the north, Virginia, recently set in place legalization that will begin in 2024.
Even Oklahoma, one of the most conservative states in the country, is experiencing some positive economic impact already after becoming a medical legal state a few months ago.
Don't hold your breath for North Carolina. It will happen, but it's unlikely to occur anytime real soon.
Many states made their decisions by creating a ballot initiative and allowing people to vote. In North Carolina, ballot initiatives must originate from the General Assembly. That is, it can't be brought to a vote as a result of people signing petitions.
So for this to happen in North Carolina, the General Assembly would need to pass a bill to be signed by the governor. There have been bills in committee for years.
While the majority of adults in our state support legal cannabis, the only age group in the survey that does not support the change are people over age 65. 56% of the people in this group oppose legalization.
And while 65 and overs are not the majority, they are the people who vote the most in elections. The senators and representatives in the NC General Assembly pay attention to this active voting block.
And there are other many other factors at play -- probably including behind-the-scenes negotiations, that we don't know about.
There's been some talk of North Carolina preparing to use the ABC stores as dispensaries, such that, when the law changes, the state has complete control.
And many people advocate using legalization as a tool for implementing social justice. While the percentage of white and black people who use marijuana is roughly the same, black people, historically, have been four times more likely to be arrested.
If a new industry comes to our state, giving that group an opportunity to be in the cannabis business would be one way for society to account for that injustice.
This is just one point of view. Nobody knows the future, but it will be interesting to see how this unfolds. We'd like to be a part of it, if that's possible.
In the meantime, we're grateful that CBD and Delta-8 THC is here -- and we have plenty of great products in stock now.
And, as always, we have free gummy samples...
Our store is open with COVID safety precautions. If you prefer to shop online, you can choose to pick-up, get free local delivery, or free shipping. If you’d like to order by phone, call (980) 330-3073. If you order online, use the discount code chill for 15% off.
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