“We can relieve citizens by passing this bill,” Cooper-Suggs said. “Medical marijuana can bring needed pain relief to some patients if prescribed and used properly, and it has to be regulated.”
Cooper-Suggs said access to medical marijuana will help patients escape dependency on opioids.
“We know that the opioids are easily abused and we have a major societal problem with opioid abuse,” she said.
Cooper-Suggs said North Carolina should learn from the 36 states that have already found ways to legalize medical marijuana.
“We must guard against cannabis grown outside of a legal framework,” Cooper Suggs said. “As we see with Mr. Langley, everything is controlled. It is a controlled environment. We should carefully regulate it, and we should also prevent underage use once it is passed. And we should fund strong programs to educate potential users.”
Cooper-Suggs said “we in the South should be the gold standard for implementing a framework that allows North Carolinians to benefit from raising, producing and selling cannabis.”
The representative said safeguards should be put in place for medical marijuana that are even stronger than the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control system for liquor.
“Also, we should use the revenue to support a robust public health advocacy campaign,” Cooper Suggs said.
B Publicly supports legalization of medical cannabis and/or decriminalization - cosponsor of legislation.
Rep. Cooper-Suggs was appointed to fill this seat (formerly held by Jean Farmer-Butterfield) on 7/27/20.
Voting History:
There have been no cannabis related bills voted on in her term in the House.