Medical marijuana legalization bill advances to NC House

The state Senate gave final approval to a bill that would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to people with cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other conditions.

The bill now goes to the state House, where a similar proposal stalled last year, despite bipartisan support in the Senate.

Republican Sen. Bill Rabon, a top legislative leader, is the bill’s lead sponsor and recently told reporters that he believes there’s more support in the House GOP than there was last year.

Wednesday's vote was essentially a formality, coming after a 36-10 vote on Tuesday, the second straight year such a bill has passed the chamber.

There’s always the possibility that some of the details in the bill could change when it goes to the House. Lawmakers there could add or remove ailments eligible for a prescription, or they could change any of the more technical, administrative rules governing how the sales and distribution system would be set up.

If that happens, the two chambers would need to agree on a final version of the bill to send to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper for his signature.