Drug Policy Watch · State Brief 2026

North Carolina

Snapshot (structured)

Adult-use cannabis: Illegal under state law (no legalization enacted as of June 2026); only legal retail sales in the state are on Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) tribal land.
Medical cannabis: No statewide medical program; the only medical/adult cannabis sales are tribal (EBCI).
Home grow: Not permitted under state law.
Intoxicating hemp / hemp THC: Broadly legal and lightly regulated; no statewide minimum purchase age as of mid-2026; large unregulated market.
Psychedelics: Illegal; only study/task-force bills have advanced, no decriminalization or therapeutic-access law enacted.
Broad decriminalization: Partial only; possession of 0.5 oz or less is a Class 3 misdemeanor (no jail, fine up to $200) since 1977. No broad decriminalization.
Harm reduction: Relatively strong; syringe services legal since 2016, naloxone access, fentanyl test strips distributed (though facing federal funding cuts in 2026).
Governor (party): Josh Stein (Democrat).
Legislature control: Republican-controlled both chambers (Senate supermajority; House short of supermajority).
Citizen ballot initiatives allowed: No (North Carolina has no statewide citizen initiative or referendum process).
Enclosure pressure score: 5/5

Cannabis

North Carolina has not legalized adult-use or medical cannabis under state law as of June 2026. Possession remains a criminal matter outside the limited 1977 decriminalization of small amounts (see Broader drug policy). The only place cannabis can be purchased legally in the state is on EBCI tribal land.

Tribal sales: The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians operates the Great Smoky Cannabis Co. (run by tribal enterprise Qualla Enterprises LLC) on the Qualla Boundary near Cherokee, in the tribe's former bingo hall at U.S. 19 and Bingo Loop Road, about 46 to 50 miles west of Asheville. It opened for medical sales on April 20, 2025, after a 2023 tribal referendum, and expanded to adult-use sales for anyone 21 and older with valid ID. This is sovereign tribal activity, not a state-licensed market. (Sources: Smoky Mountain News; Carolina Public Press; AOL/Asheville Citizen Times.)

Home grow: Not permitted under state law.

Market structure: There is no state-regulated cannabis market. Off-tribal land, the de facto "cannabis" market is intoxicating hemp (see Hemp). Governor Josh Stein's Advisory Council on Cannabis estimated North Carolina has one of the largest unregulated cannabis markets in the nation at roughly $3.2 billion in annual sales.

Key 2026 actions: Governor Stein created the bipartisan, 24-member Advisory Council on Cannabis by executive order on June 4 (2025). The Council approved an interim report on April 2, 2026, recommending that North Carolina legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older through licensed retail sales, finding an adult-access model would raise the most revenue and best address public-health and enforcement risks of the current "hybrid" market. Stein publicly endorsed legalizing recreational marijuana following the report. A final report with detailed regulatory recommendations is expected in December 2026. The Republican-led General Assembly has not committed to taking up legalization. (Sources: governor.nc.gov; NCDHHS interim report; Carolina Journal; Marijuana Moment; Cannabis Business Times.)

Hemp

Hemp-derived cannabinoid products (including THCA flower, Delta-8, Delta-9 gummies and drinks, HHC, and CBD) remain broadly legal in North Carolina and are sold widely with minimal state regulation. As of mid-2026 the state had no statewide minimum age to purchase intoxicating hemp products, a gap lawmakers repeatedly tried to close.

Recent state action: - HB 328 (Regulate Hemp-Derived Consumables) would, in its Senate-amended form, have effectively banned most non-Delta-9 hemp cannabinoids (THCA, Delta-8, HHC). After the House voted 95-18 not to concur with the Senate version on April 21, 2026, the bill was revived in a conference committee (conferees appointed June 23 to 25), and the Senate approved the conference report on July 2, 2026 (a total-THC 0.4 mg per container standard, an age-21 limit, and kratom provisions); it now awaits a final House vote before going to Governor Stein. (Sources: ncleg.gov H328; WUNC.) - SB 59 / age-21 effort: In June 2026 the House advanced a measure to set a statewide minimum age of 21 to buy or possess hemp-derived consumables and kratom, with violations as a Class 2 misdemeanor and escalating fines ($500 first offense up to $1,500). It passed the House on/around June 10, 2026 and moved toward House Rules; proposed effective date December 1, 2026. Reporting describes the vehicle's House sponsor as Rep. Jimmy Dixon (R-Duplin); the relationship of this House action to the original Senate Bill 59 text is somewhat tangled in reporting, so treat the exact bill number/sponsor pairing as unconfirmed pending verification against ncleg.gov. Senate leader Phil Berger signaled the age-only approach may face long odds in the Senate as not going far enough. (Sources: WUNC; WRAL; WECT; WLOS; NC Newsline; Carolina Journal.)

Exposure to federal hemp changes and the November 12, 2026 deadline: Congress redefined "hemp" in the federal appropriations bill that ended the government shutdown, signed November 12, 2025, with a one-year delayed implementation. Under Section 781 of the Appropriations Act, hemp shifts to a total-THC standard (0.3% total THC dry weight, inclusive of THCA and Delta-8) and final-form consumable products are capped at 0.4 mg total THC per container, effective November 12, 2026. Industry analysts estimate this would render the large majority (commonly cited as roughly 90 to 95%) of currently legal hemp THC products illegal nationwide. North Carolina is heavily exposed: state coverage references roughly 800-plus licensed growers and thousands of workers potentially affected. As of the latest reporting, no federal delay or repeal had cleared Congress, though multiple bills in the 119th Congress would delay or revise the change. (Sources: Vicente LLP; Akerman LLP; congress.gov CRS IN12620; McDonald Hopkins; Wilson Elser; Raleigh Dispensaries.)

Psychedelics

North Carolina has not decriminalized psychedelics and has no therapeutic-access law. Legislative activity has centered on research and task forces rather than legalization: - SB 568 (2025) would have created a task force to study medical psychedelics (MDMA for PTSD, psilocybin for depression/anxiety) with a report due December 1, 2026. Primary sponsors reported as Sen. Sophia Chitlik (D) and Sen. Bobby Hannig (R). It did not pass the May 8, 2025 crossover deadline and did not reach a floor vote, though its language could in theory be attached to another vehicle. (Sources: FOX8 WGHP; North Carolina Health News; WUNC; Appalachian Psychedelic Society; Marijuana Moment.) - A "HEAL Act" (Healing through Evidence-based Access to Lifesaving Care), reported as S1018 with Sen. Robert Brinson (R) as lead sponsor, would create a Breakthrough Therapies Task Force to study psychedelics, review research grant applications, and recommend licensing/insurance frameworks; reporting referenced a proposed $5 million psychedelic research grant fund advancing in committee. Treat exact bill number and current status as unconfirmed pending verification against ncleg.gov. (Sources: Marijuana Moment; Psychedelic Alpha.)

No 2026 enacted psychedelics law identified.

Broader drug policy

Decriminalization: Limited. Since 1977, possession of 0.5 oz or less of marijuana is a Class 3 misdemeanor with a mandatory suspended sentence (no jail) and a fine up to $200. More than 0.5 to 1.5 oz is a Class 1 misdemeanor (1 to 45 days, fine up to $1,000 first offense). There is no broad decriminalization of other controlled substances. (Sources: NORML; capitalcriminaldefense.com; Wikipedia: Cannabis in North Carolina.)

Harm reduction: Comparatively strong relative to cannabis policy. - Syringe services: Legal since July 2016; participants are protected from prosecution for possession of syringes/supplies obtained through a program. (Source: NC Harm Reduction Coalition; NCDHHS.) - Naloxone: Distributed widely through NCDHHS programs and county health departments; free in many counties. (Source: NCDHHS Syringe and Naloxone Access.) - Drug checking / fentanyl test strips: Distributed free in counties such as Durham (fentanyl and xylazine strips) and Chatham. However, a 2026 SAMHSA policy reversal banning federal funding for fentanyl test strips threatens access; NC harm-reduction directors have voiced concern. (Sources: Durham County; Chatham County; NWVCIL/SAMHSA coverage.)

Sentencing and expungement: NC has petition-based expungement; most first-time misdemeanor drug possession convictions become eligible after completing requirements and a waiting period (commonly cited as around five years). There is no automatic cannabis-record expungement under current law; automatic expungement provisions exist only inside proposed legalization bills (e.g., HB 413). (Sources: Cummings and Kennedy/encattorneys.com; LRS UNC H413 summary.)

Overdose and treatment policy: Administered through NCDHHS overdose-epidemic initiatives (opioid settlement funds, naloxone, syringe access). Federal harm-reduction funding shifts in 2026 are a live risk to test-strip and related services.

Political landscape

Governor: Josh Stein (Democrat), elected 2024. He supports legalizing recreational marijuana and created the Advisory Council on Cannabis.

Legislature: Republican-controlled. Following the 2024 elections, Republicans hold roughly a 30-20 Senate majority (a supermajority) and roughly a 71-49 House majority (short of a veto-proof supermajority, meaning Democrats can sustain a Stein veto if they hold together, or Republicans need at least one House Democrat to override). (Sources: Ballotpedia 2026 NC legislative session; Duke Chronicle; Smith Anderson; WRAL.)

Key committees: Hemp/cannabis bills route through House and Senate Rules committees and relevant judiciary/health/agriculture committees. Specific committee chair assignments for 2026 are unconfirmed here; confirm on ncleg.gov.

Reform champions and opponents: - Champions: Gov. Josh Stein (legalization advocate). House Democratic sponsors of HB 413 (Reps. Lopez, Dew, Hawkins, Harrison and co-sponsors). Bipartisan psychedelics sponsors (Chitlik, Hannig, Brinson) push research/therapeutic access. - Opponents / skeptics: Senate leader Phil Berger (R) has been a gatekeeper, and signaled an age-only hemp restriction may not go far enough (his preferred direction on cannabis legalization is restrictive). The North Carolina Family Policy Council opposes liberalization. Specific named opponents of HB 413 beyond GOP leadership are unconfirmed here.

Ballot initiatives

North Carolina has no statewide citizen-initiated ballot measure or referendum process. Voters cannot put marijuana legalization or any statute on the ballot by petition; change must come through the General Assembly (or, on tribal land, by EBCI referendum, as occurred in 2023). There are no pending statewide citizen initiatives. (General civics fact; corroborated by absence of any NC initiative in cannabis-reform trackers.)

Equity and expungement

There is no enacted social-equity licensing program because there is no legal state cannabis market. Equity and automatic-expungement provisions exist only in proposed legislation: HB 413 would create an Office of Community Reinvestment to address prohibition's historical inequities and provide automatic expungement of prior offenses made legal under the act. Under current law, expungement is petition-based with waiting periods, which disadvantages people who lack legal resources. Those currently benefiting from the only legal market are EBCI tribal enterprises; off-reservation small operators rely on the unregulated hemp market that the November 12, 2026 federal change threatens. (Sources: LRS UNC H413 summary; ncleg.gov H413; encattorneys.com.)

Market and barriers

Hard numbers are limited because there is no licensed state market: - Unregulated cannabis/hemp market size: roughly $3.2 billion annually (Advisory Council on Cannabis estimate). - Hemp growers/workers exposed to federal change: state coverage cites roughly 800-plus licensed growers and thousands of workers. - Proposed adult-use tax (HB 413): 30% excise tax (proposed, not enacted). - State license fees, caps, residency or capital requirements: none, because no state market exists. Tribal market terms are set by EBCI/Qualla Enterprises and are not state-published. - Hemp purchase age: no statewide minimum as of mid-2026 (SB 59/House vehicle would set 21). (Sources: NCDHHS interim report; Raleigh Dispensaries; ncleg.gov H413.)

Enclosure read

North Carolina sits at an unusual fork. Today the market is wide open on the hemp side (an unregulated multibillion-dollar field of small retailers and growers) and tightly closed on the marijuana side (no state market at all, with the sole legal sales held by a single sovereign tribal enterprise). The dominant 2026 pressure is the federal November 12, 2026 hemp redefinition, which would wipe out most of the small-operator hemp economy at a stroke. If the state then legalizes under a licensed model, the most likely beneficiaries are well-capitalized operators able to clear licensing and testing thresholds, while existing small hemp shops and informal sellers are fenced out. The EBCI maintains a protected sovereign position. Under the July 2026 re-score this is a fully enclosed setting (a correction from the 3 this brief carried earlier): the cannabis commons is completely closed to North Carolinians under state law, and the hemp field is open only by neglect, with a federal cliff and a likely state licensing regime both poised to consolidate it. Hence a score of 5/5: the commons is closed, and the fence posts around its one informal opening are already being set.

What to watch next

November 12, 2026: federal hemp redefinition (Section 781) takes effect, capping consumable products at 0.4 mg total THC per container, absent congressional delay/repeal.
December 1, 2026: proposed effective date for the SB 59/House age-21 hemp restriction if enacted.
December 2026: Advisory Council on Cannabis final report with detailed regulatory recommendations.
2026 short session of the General Assembly: convening date reported variously as April 11 vs April 21, 2026 (verify on ncleg.gov legislative calendar); scheduled to run toward late summer (adjournment cited around August 31, 2026). Budget is the dominant priority; cannabis/hemp action is possible but uncommitted.
Watch whether Senate (Berger) moves any hemp regulation, and whether HB 413 or psychedelics study language gets revived in any vehicle.

Regulators

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS): overdose/harm-reduction programs, syringe and naloxone access, and staffing of the Advisory Council on Cannabis interim report.
North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: hemp program oversight historically.
North Carolina General Assembly (ncleg.gov): sets cannabis, hemp, and drug-policy statutes.
Governor's Advisory Council on Cannabis: advisory body (interim report April 2026; final report due December 2026); no regulatory authority.
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians / Qualla Enterprises LLC: regulates and operates cannabis sales on tribal land (sovereign authority).
(Future) any state cannabis regulator would be created only by enacted legalization; none exists.

Federal exposure (2026)

North Carolina's federal exposure is dominated by hemp, not by cannabis rescheduling, because the state has almost no state-legal cannabis market to expose.

Rescheduling and 280E: In April 2026 the DOJ/DEA order moved only FDA-approved cannabis drugs and state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III, leaving recreational cannabis on Schedule I. The broader DEA hearing opened June 29, 2026 (and may slip to 2027). For North Carolina this relief is largely moot. There is no statewide medical or adult-use program, so there are no state-licensed operators to gain the 280E deduction or the lower scheduling tier. The only legal cannabis sales in the state are on Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) tribal land, run by Qualla Enterprises LLC. Tribal operations sit in a distinct posture: they are sovereign activity, not state-licensed, and federal scheduling still treats cannabis as Schedule I for purposes of the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule III does not legalize cannabis, does not authorize interstate commerce, and does not extend the medical 280E relief to tribal recreational sales, so the EBCI's tax and banking exposure does not improve from the April 2026 order. The tribe's protection comes from sovereignty and federal enforcement discretion, not from rescheduling. If North Carolina ever enacts a licensed medical program, only that medical category would benefit from Schedule III and 280E relief; recreational sales would remain on Schedule I.

The November 12, 2026 hemp cliff (critical exposure): This is North Carolina's single largest federal lever. FY2026 agriculture appropriations (Section 781, sponsor reported as Rep. Andy Harris R-MD, confirm sponsor/section pairing against congress.gov) narrowed the federal definition of hemp to a total-THC standard capping final consumable products at roughly 0.4 mg THC per container, recriminalizing an estimated 90 to 95 percent of intoxicating hemp products nationwide effective November 12, 2026. The H.R.7010 delay was not enacted, and the 2026 Farm Bill (reported as H.R.7567, confirm against congress.gov) keeps the ban. North Carolina is among the most exposed states in the country: the Governor's Advisory Council on Cannabis estimates a roughly $3.2 billion largely unregulated intoxicating-hemp economy, with state coverage citing roughly 800-plus licensed growers and thousands of workers. The practical effect: on November 12, 2026, the bulk of the THCA flower, Delta-8, Delta-9 gummies and drinks, and HHC products that currently fill North Carolina's off-tribal shelves would become federally noncompliant in one step, with no state regime ready to absorb, license, or transition those operators. Because North Carolina never built a state regulatory floor under intoxicating hemp (no statewide purchase age until the pending age-21 vehicle, no potency caps, no licensing of retailers), the federal redefinition lands directly on an open market with no cushion. Small retailers and growers bear the impact; the EBCI's sovereign cannabis channel is unaffected by the hemp redefinition.

Banking: SAFER Banking has stalled in Congress. For North Carolina this is a low-salience lever today because there is no state-licensed cannabis industry needing depository or payment access. It would matter only if and when the state stands up a licensed market; until then the financing constraints fall on hemp operators (general business banking, not cannabis-specific) and on the EBCI's sovereign enterprise.

Psychedelics: There is no state route in North Carolina. Psilocybin, MDMA, and ibogaine remain Schedule I federally; the April 18, 2026 executive order, Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness [https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/accelerating-medical-treatments-for-serious-mental-illness/] plus FDA priority vouchers fast-track FDA review, but no approval has issued. North Carolina's only activity is study/task-force legislation (SB 568, the reported HEAL Act/S1018, both unconfirmed in current status, see Psychedelics section), none enacted. Any near-term access in North Carolina would come only through the federal FDA pathway, not state law.

Harm reduction: North Carolina is comparatively strong here, with syringe services legal since July 2016, broad naloxone distribution through NCDHHS, and fentanyl/xylazine test-strip programs in counties such as Durham and Chatham. The April 24, 2026 SAMHSA guidance bars federal funds for fentanyl test strips, clean syringes, and sterile water, while continuing to support naloxone. The practical effect in North Carolina is a funding reversal that threatens test-strip access specifically; the state's syringe-services legal authority survives (it is state law, not federal), but federally funded supplies for strips, syringes, and sterile water are now at risk, and NC harm-reduction directors have voiced concern. Naloxone funding is unaffected.

Patient access and rights

This section covers what North Carolina law does and does not protect for a medical cannabis patient: use inside a hospital, and the broader rights that follow a patient into work, housing, parenting, an organ transplant list, and school. It is information, not legal advice, and it reflects the law as of July 2026. Each point links to the primary statute.

North Carolina has no comprehensive state medical cannabis program. State law allows only a low-THC hemp extract for intractable epilepsy under North Carolina General Statutes Section 90-94.1. Separately, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians operates a dispensary on tribal land under its own sovereign law, which is not state law and does not extend statewide.

Hospital access (Ryan's Law): North Carolina has no hospital-access law. No statute requires a hospital or similar facility to let a patient use medical cannabis on site, so the decision is left to each facility's own policy. Seven states have now enacted a Ryan's Law protection (California in 2021, and Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington in 2026), with Pennsylvania's bill pending; North Carolina is not among them.

Broader protections: here the absence is the finding. A review of North Carolina law found no statutory protection for a medical cannabis patient in any of the areas other states cover: not employment, not housing, not a custody or visitation dispute, not placement on an organ transplant list, and not school enrollment, and there is no general medical-care protection. In these situations the patient has no enforceable shield; the protection does not exist in state law today.

Out-of-state patients: North Carolina has no operational state program and does not recognize other states' medical cannabis cards.

The federal picture: the April 2026 federal move of state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III did not change any of this. Schedule III does not make dispensary cannabis a lawful prescription medicine, and it creates no hospital-use right and no employment, housing, custody, transplant, or school protection; only state law can create those, and North Carolina has not.

What to watch: the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act (House Bill 1011) has been introduced but is not law.

Sources: North Carolina's hemp extract law, North Carolina General Statutes Section 90-94.1.

Analysis: the enclosure read in depth

Who is fenced out in North Carolina: The defining feature is that there is no statewide legal cannabis market to be enclosed in the usual sense. The only legal sales channel is the EBCI's sovereign tribal market near Cherokee, which non-tribal operators cannot enter. Off-tribal land, the entire commercial cannabis-adjacent economy is intoxicating hemp, an open field of small retailers and growers operating with almost no state regulation. Governor Stein's Advisory Council on Cannabis recommended legalization through a licensed retail model in its April 2026 interim report, and Stein endorsed adult-use legalization, but the Republican-led General Assembly has not committed to taking it up, and Senate leader Phil Berger has been a gatekeeper. North Carolina has no citizen ballot-initiative process, so reform cannot route around the legislature; change must come from the General Assembly (or, on tribal land, by EBCI referendum). The people most exposed to being fenced out are therefore the existing small hemp operators, who face federal recriminalization first and, if the state later legalizes under licensing, a second squeeze from capital, testing, and licensing thresholds they may not clear.

State-plus-federal interaction: The two levers compound. The federal November 12, 2026 hemp cliff threatens to wipe out most of a roughly $3.2 billion open market with no state regime to catch it. If North Carolina then legalizes cannabis through the licensed model the Council recommends, the most likely beneficiaries are well-capitalized operators able to clear licensing and testing thresholds, not the displaced hemp shops. The sequence matters: federal enclosure of hemp arrives before any state market is built, so the open commons could be largely cleared before any licensed structure replaces it, maximizing the consolidation effect. The EBCI retains a protected sovereign position throughout, unaffected by either the hemp redefinition or cannabis rescheduling.

What to watch: whether Congress delays or repeals the Section 781 hemp redefinition before November 12, 2026 (no delay enacted as of the latest reporting); the Advisory Council's final report due December 2026 and whether it pushes the legislature toward a bill; whether Berger and the Senate move any cannabis or hemp regulation; the fate of the pending age-21 hemp vehicle; and the SAMHSA test-strip funding reversal's effect on county harm-reduction programs.

Scarcity of commons counter-moves: North Carolina has few tools to defend an open or equitable market. With no ballot initiative, advocates cannot bypass a reluctant legislature. There is no enacted social-equity or automatic-expungement law; those provisions exist only inside proposed bills (HB 413). The state never built a regulatory floor under hemp that could be adapted into a transitional licensing bridge, so there is no ready mechanism to carry small operators across the federal cliff. The only durable commons-style position belongs to the EBCI, and that is sovereignty, available to one tribal enterprise, not a model others can join.

Why the score is 5/5 (corrected July 18, 2026; an earlier version scored North Carolina 3): under the July 2026 re-score, a state with no legal cannabis market scores as fully enclosed, because a commons the community cannot lawfully enter is a closed commons whoever holds the gate. North Carolina has no state cannabis market at all; the only legal sales sit inside a single sovereign tribal enterprise that ordinary North Carolina retailers and growers cannot join. The hemp field is open only by neglect, not by right, and the fence posts are being set around it: a federal hemp cliff poised to clear most of the open market, a likely future state licensing regime that would favor large operators, no ballot-initiative escape valve, and no commons counter-moves in reserve. A closed cannabis commons plus a temporary, unprotected hemp opening already being fenced places North Carolina at 5/5, the same level recorded in the Snapshot and Enclosure read sections above.

Active legislation (2026)

This list is not exhaustive. For the full and current set of bills, use the North Carolina General Assembly bill lookup (ncleg.gov) and LegiScan (legiscan.com/NC).

Beyond the live tracker

These measures are not in the live bill list below: some are not bills (executive orders, rules, referendums, or budgets), and some are proposals or prior-session measures the live tracker does not currently carry.

SB 568 Study task force on medical psychedelics (MDMA/PTSD, psilocybin) (Did not make 5/8/2025 crossover; inactive but language could be revived)
S1018 (HEAL Act) Breakthrough Therapies Task Force; psychedelic research; ~$5M grant fund (Reported advanced in committee; status unconfirmed)

Bill	Title/Topic	Chamber	Status	Sponsor(s)
HB 413	Marijuana Legalization and Reinvestment Act (adult-use legalization, 2 oz possession, 6 plants, 30% excise tax, Office of Community Reinvestment, automatic expungement)	House	Introduced 3/18/2025; referred to House Rules; not advanced	Reps. Lopez, Dew, Hawkins, Harrison (reported 17 Democratic sponsors); confirm full list on ncleg.gov
HB 328	Regulate Hemp-Derived Consumables (Senate version would ban THCA/Delta-8/HHC)	House/Senate	Failed to concur 4/21/2026 (House refused to concur 95-18), then revived in conference: the Senate approved the conference report on July 2, 2026 (total-THC/0.4 mg standard, age-21 limit, kratom provisions); awaiting a final House vote as of mid-July 2026. (source)	Confirm sponsors on ncleg.gov H328
SB 328	Age-21 hemp restriction (Class 2 misdemeanor for under-21 sale/possession)	Senate	Parked in committee through short session	Confirm sponsors on ncleg.gov S328
SB 59 / House age-21 vehicle	Statewide minimum age 21 for hemp-derived consumables and kratom; Class 2 misdemeanor; effective 12/1/2026 (proposed)	House (advanced ~6/10/2026); Senate outlook uncertain	Active	Reported House sponsor Rep. Jimmy Dixon (R-Duplin); bill-number/sponsor pairing unconfirmed against ncleg.gov
SB 568	Study task force on medical psychedelics (MDMA/PTSD, psilocybin)	Senate	Did not make 5/8/2025 crossover; inactive but language could be revived	Reported Sens. Sophia Chitlik (D), Bobby Hannig (R)
S1018 (HEAL Act)	Breakthrough Therapies Task Force; psychedelic research; ~$5M grant fund	Senate	Reported advanced in committee; status unconfirmed	Reported lead Sen. Robert Brinson (R); confirm on ncleg.gov

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A planning snapshot for 2026, not legal advice. Policy moves quickly; confirm any single detail against the cited sources before acting on it. Sponsor names are given where confirmable and marked unconfirmed otherwise.

About the author. Jessica Mantonya is the founder of Drug Policy Watch and Hold in Common. She also advises operators, advocates, and funders on regulatory strategy and anti-enclosure positioning. Work with her →