Where Do NC Lawmakers Stand on Hemp? Here Is What 11 Incumbents Say

Ahead of the November 3 election, The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer sent questionnaires to candidates in competitive legislative races. One question was simple: “How should the state regulate hemp and marijuana?”

At least 11 sitting members of the General Assembly, three Republicans and eight Democrats, have answered that question in the questionnaires published so far. Several emphasized age restrictions and keeping intoxicating products away from minors, but their answers differ more sharply on licensing, oversight, taxation, and marijuana legalization. The newspapers have continued publishing questionnaires, including a roundup of the Wake County races, so more answers may follow. 

The answers below are short excerpts or summaries of longer questionnaire responses, not complete statements of each lawmaker's position.

What the House Members Said

Rep. Tricia Cotham (R), House District 105, Mecklenburg County

In her Charlotte Observer questionnaire, Cotham wrote: “We need to regulate the limited parts that we can as a state, with all stakeholders having a voice. The good actors in the hemp industry want regulations to improve safety, packaging and transparency.”

Rep. Erin Paré (R), House District 37, Wake County

“The state should regulate hemp by providing age restrictions, testing requirements, marketing restrictions in order to keep it out of the hands of kids.” Paré added that as chair of the House Select Committee on Substance Abuse in 2024, her committee “recommended the state regulate the sale and distribution of hemp-derived consumable and kratom products.”

Rep. Mike Schietzelt (R), House District 35, Wake County

In his N&O questionnaire, Schietzelt wrote: “The most immediate need is to prohibit sales to minors. We need to provide a licensing framework that would cut bad actors out, protect minors and protect consumers.” He added that he generally supports medical marijuana but does not support recreational marijuana.

Rep. Cynthia Ball (D), House District 49, Wake County

In her N&O questionnaire, Ball wrote: “Hemp: we need a system that prohibits minors from buying products and merchants from selling to the minors, protects growers and sellers with guardrails, within a tax system that provides a reasonable source of state revenue.”

Rep. Julie von Haefen (D), House District 36, Wake County

“I support the legalization of recreational and medical marijuana.” Von Haefen noted that in 2022 she sponsored House Bill 576, the Marijuana Justice and Reinvestment Act, which would have legalized and regulated cannabis in North Carolina.

Rep. Ya Liu (D), House District 21, Wake County

In her N&O questionnaire, Liu said she has long supported the medical use and regulation of medicinal marijuana in North Carolina.

What the Senators Said

Sen. Haseeb Fatmi (D), Senate District 18, Wake and Granville Counties

Fatmi wrote that hemp and marijuana “should be legal and regulated the same way we regulate alcohol, with clear and consistent rules concerning labeling, sale, age restrictions, production, testing, advertising, taxation.”

Sen. Lisa Grafstein (D), Senate District 13, Wake County

“I support regulated adult use for cannabis products, with an age limit (21) and strict controls on each stage of growing, production and sale.” She also pointed to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' cannabis model as an example.

Sen. Woodson Bradley (D), Senate District 42, Mecklenburg County

In his Charlotte Observer questionnaire, Bradley called for stricter regulation and said the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control system should have a role in regulating these products.

Sen. Jonah Garson (D), Senate District 23

In his N&O questionnaire, Garson said hemp and marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use, regulated and taxed, and kept away from children.

Sen. Dan Blue (D), Senate District 14, Wake County

In his N&O questionnaire, Blue described North Carolina as an outlier and said the state can look to the regulatory systems other states have already built.

Where the Answers Overlap, and Where They Differ

Across both chambers and both parties, a few themes come up repeatedly:

•        Keeping products away from minors or setting age restrictions, raised by Paré, Schietzelt, Ball, Fatmi, Grafstein, and Garson

•        Testing, labeling, safety, and transparency, raised in different forms by Cotham, Paré, and Fatmi

•        Licensing and stronger oversight, raised by Schietzelt and Bradley

•        Taxes and state revenue, raised by Ball, Fatmi, and Garson

The differences are just as clear. Some lawmakers point to alcohol as the model: Fatmi wants hemp and marijuana regulated the way alcohol is, while Bradley wants the state's ABC system to have a role. Grafstein points to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' cannabis model, and Blue to the frameworks other states already use.

On marijuana, the split is wider. Von Haefen, Fatmi, Grafstein, and Garson support legal adult use. Schietzelt supports medical marijuana but opposes recreational use. Liu has expressed support for medical marijuana, but the questionnaire excerpt reviewed here does not establish her position on recreational legalization.

None of the sitting lawmakers whose questionnaires we reviewed called for banning hemp outright.

What These Answers Do and Do Not Tell Us

These answers are useful, but they have limits worth keeping in mind:

•        They are campaign questionnaire answers, not votes on a bill

•        They come mostly from races in Wake and Mecklenburg counties, chosen by the newspapers, not from every district in the state

•        The questionnaire answers reviewed here do not name a specific bill, including HB 328, or address a THC limit such as the 0.4 milligram per container standard

HB 328 remains in the House Rules Committee. The General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on October 26, but the House calendar for that session has not yet been published.

How to Ask Your Own Candidates

If your district was not part of these questionnaires, you can still ask the same question. The General Assembly's website has a tool to look up your state House member and senator, and many candidates list contact information on their campaign websites.

In-person early voting begins October 15 and runs through 3 PM on October 31. Election Day is November 3.