NCGA Newcomer Jordan Lopez Takes up Fight for Marijuana Legalization

In September 2024, Charlotte mourned the loss of longtime lawmaker Kelly Alexander Jr., who passed away at age 75 after having served in the NC House of Representative for 16 years.

As former president of the NAACP North Carolina State Conference from 1987-1993, Alexander Jr. was a civil rights icon like his father before him, but he was also known as a fervent supporter of the movement to legalize marijuana in North Carolina.

In fact, he spearheaded that movement legislatively, having introduced multiple bills over the years that would have seen medical marijuana legalized in the state at a time when such bills were seen as dead before their introduction.

Late in his life, momentum grew for this passion project of his, though he never did get to see it come to fruition.

As Alexander had already announced his plans not to run for reelection in 2024, some wondered if the movement to legalize marijuana in some shape or form in North Carolina would peter out.

On March 17, NC Rep. Jordan Lopez picked up Alexander’s torch when he introduced House Bill 413, or the “Marijuana Legalization and Reinvestment Act,” to legalize and regulate the sale, possession and use of cannabis for people 21 and older.

A new bill

The act called cannabis prohibition a “wasteful and destructive failure” that has had an “unfair, disparate impact on persons and communities of color.”

A 2020 report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that, nationwide, Black people are 3.6 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana despite similar usage rates.

The bill would impose a 30% excise tax on cannabis, with 25% of revenue going into a proposed Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, which would then be distributed to individuals and communities affected by systemic racism in drug enforcement. Registered medical cannabis would be exempt from the excise tax.

Anyone charged with a cannabis-related offense would also have their record expunged no later than July 1, 2028.

The bill would create a new source of needed revenue for the state as North Carolina quickly heads toward a fiscal cliff in the next couple of years, Lopez told Queen City Nerve. He said he was inspired to introduce the bill after hearing about it from his constituents-to-be while campaigning.

“It came up repeatedly throughout the campaign season, especially among young voters, as legalization is an interest that they want to see the state move in the direction of,” Lopez said, “but also from people of all walks who view marijuana as a medicine or in the same manner as tobacco or alcohol.”

Listen: Nooze Hounds: NC House Rep-Elect Jordan Lopez (2024)

As the youngest Democrat in the North Carolina General Assembly, Lopez is likely to better connect with young voters, and while he acknowledges that’s who led the charge in raising the legalization question to him during his campaign, he insists young voters weren’t the only ones expressing interest in the issue.

In a recent poll conducted by Meredith College, 71% of North Carolinians supported legalizing medical marijuana, with only 17% of respondents being opposed. The majority of every demographic group in the state, even those who identified as very conservative, supported similar legislation.

The poll follows a trend in increased support amongst NC Republican legislators, with two recent bills, The Compassionate Care Act and House Bill 563, being majority or entirely Republican-sponsored. Despite that growing support, Republicans continue to lead the opposing efforts as well, as all those who voted against the bills were Republican lawmakers.

Although the state came close to passing those bills to legalize medical marijuana across North Carolina, the state has yet to codify any legislation on the issue.

Lopez’s bill is the latest in a years-long fight to legalize marijuana, recreational or otherwise.

Lopez told Queen City Nerve he wanted to continue the work of not only the late Rep. Kelly Alexander but also Rep. John Autry, his predecessor as an east Charlotte representative and a similarly fervent support of statewide marijuana legalization.

Lopez said he drew heavily from Rep. Alexander’s last legalization bill in 2023, House Bill 626, when he was writing up House Bill 413.

“People have been smoking cannabis from time immemorial and up until the 1930s, it was essentially legal,” Alexander told WCNC in 2023. “What we’re trying to do now is to restore that legality.

“This is not the 18th century,” he continued. “We don’t need to put a scarlet letter on people for the use of a naturally occurring product that more and more people see as having a medical benefit, and a personal benefit.”

Lopez said many opponents of marijuana legalization have primarily relied on concerns for potential increased substance abuse, though consistent data confirming that belief is lacking. In fact, the University of Colorado Boulder found that legalizing marijuana at the state level does not increase substance abuse and may even reduce alcohol-related problems.

Listen: Nooze Hounds: Rep. Kelly Alexander Jr. Talks Black History

Some in the addiction recovery field have voiced concerns over the growing potency of marijuana, however, and Lopez said he understands their concern. His bill includes funding to ensure proper education about responsible use and risks as well as certifying lab testing and potency labeling.

Some opponents have used their own personal beliefs to convey their opposition to both medical and recreational marijuana, Lopez said

In response to HB 563, Republican Sen. Tom McInnis from Moore County said he had “no doubt that this bill sponsor is well-intended. But as my mother used to say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

What progress has NC made?

Since Alexander’s efforts began in the late 2000s, North Carolina has seen some progress on the issue, with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians Tribal Council amending its Tribal Code to allow the sale of recreational marijuana in June 2024.

Despite the progress and many individuals and legislators’ support, Lopez is not hopeful his new bill will be passed in NC’s Republican-dominated General Assembly.

“There has been a bill filed by Republican senators several times now to legalize medicinal marijuana, or medical marijuana. I’m taking a more recreational approach, but even the medical approach has stalled several times here in the legislature,” Lopez told WCNC.

“It would get a lot of attention, and folks would be very vocal about their support or opposition for it, but unfortunately, I’m not super confident that we’ll even have the opportunity to have that.”

Lopez is not giving up on the cause. He has already had conversations with stakeholders since the bill’s introduction and identified areas that he may diverge from in future iterations of the bill, for example, the sales tax percentage, but he otherwise plans to follow a similar approach.