An advisory council in North Carolina recommended lawmakers create a system that allow adults to use marijuana in hopes of regulating a multibillion dollar, “wild west” marketplace.
North Carolina is one of only 10 states and three U.S. territories that does not have a regulated adult-use marijuana market or medical marijuana program, according to a draft report from the state’s Advisory Council on Cannabis released April 2. In the absence of a legal market, consumers in the state spent an estimated $3.2 billion on illicit marijuana in 2022, according to a U.S. Cannabis Report cited by the council.
Meanwhile, the council said hemp-derived cannabinoid products are being marketed as legal alternatives to marijuana and sold without uniform standards or meaningful oversight. That industry is valued at about $1 billion, the council said.
“North Carolina’s intoxicating cannabis market currently exists in a dangerous policy gap that is neither true prohibition nor meaningful regulation,” the report said.
The council recommended that the legislature end “the legal but unworkable distinction between marijuana and hemp” and establish “an adult-use regulatory model with built-in protections for medical consumers.” That model would allow adults to purchase, possess and use cannabis through state-licensed retail outlets.
A final report with detailed regulatory recommendations will be issued by the council in December. Gov. Josh Stein, who established the council, said in a statement the report makes it clear a legally regulated market is safer for the state.
“Our state’s unregulated cannabis market today is the Wild West and is crying for order,” Stein said. “Let’s get this right. Let’s protect our kids and create a safe, legal, and well-regulated market for adults.”
The report in North Carolina comes after several key developments at the federal level. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December to federally classify marijuana as a less dangerous substance.
And legislation to reopen the government after a shutdown in 2025 will close a loophole that has allowed many hemp-derived products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, to be sold. The ban is expected to go into effect in November.
The report said state responses to the federal changes have varied, creating a patchwork of different regulations. In the neighboring state of Virginia, for example, Gov. Abigail Spanberger is expected to sign a bill that will allow retail sales of marijuana to begin in 2027, the report said.
“If surrounding states adopt regulated cannabis programs while North Carolina does not, the state could effectively become a prohibition jurisdiction situated among regulated markets, a dynamic that may complicate enforcement and influence the flow of products and consumers across state line,” the council said.
The report comes just before the North Carolina General Assembly convenes for a short legislative session. Legislators have recently proposed bills that would help establish a medical marijuana and an adult-use program.
But lawmakers have been unable to reach agreements on cannabis regulations in the past, and two top lawmakers recently expressed concern about the council’s recommendation, signaling that more gridlock could ensue, the News & Observer reported.
“It’s remarkable that we’re going to put money into psychosis treatment and opioid treatment at the same time we have a report out that is trying to legalize marijuana when we know that there’s a four times higher likelihood of psychosis when young adults use marijuana,” Rep. Timothy Reeder, an emergency physician, said according to the outlet. “So we’re funding money for a program that we’re getting ready to exacerbate.”
Some evidence has linked cannabis use to an earlier onset of psychosis in people with genetic risk factors, and worse symptoms in people who have psychotic disorders, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, but more research is needed to “determine whether, to what extent, and for whom cannabis may cause or contribute to poor mental health outcomes.” A 2025 study from researchers at Columbia University found no changes in opioid outcomes among the general population in the states that passed medical and recreational marijuana laws.
Though it won’t be an easy task, legislative action is necessary to protect North Carolinians, the council said.
“The status quo is unacceptable,” the report said.