LongLeaf Politics: Gambling and getting stoned are the latest fallacies the GOP is touting. | Eastern North Carolina Now

Again this year, Republicans are the driving force behind bills to legalize marijuana in North Carolina for medical use and to legalize sports gambling throughout the state. Such bills have failed narrowly in the past few years, but legislative leaders predict that this year both will go to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk — where he will eagerly sign them.

Both issues have the media behind them, and most public polling. But the real arguments for marijuana and gambling largely center around money. They’ve become big businesses in the United States — and the General Assembly sees dollar signs. As neighboring states legalize and regulate these burgeoning industries, legislative worry that they’re missing out.

But this ignores something more important than money. Both issues strike to the heart of a few simple questions: What kind of state do we want North Carolina to be? And what’s more important: Being the most business-friendly, or the most family-friendly?

About the medical marijuana bill

North Carolina’s medical marijuana legislation is called the Compassionate Care Act.

The effort has long been championed by Brunswick County Republican Sen. Bill Rabon, who cites his own experience with colon cancer when he was in his 40s. "In my opinion, it will not keep you on earth a day longer, but every day you’re here is a better day," he told The Assembly. 

Under the bill, North Carolina would set up an elaborate, regulated industry around marijuana growing, distribution, and sale. Companies would pay a $50,000 fee to get a license to manufacture or sell the drug in the state, opening roughly 80 “cannabis centers” around the state to sell weed. They’ll pay a $10,000 fee each year, plus a 10% tax on total revenue.

A fairly lengthy list of conditions will qualify for medical marijuana to begin with, including cancer, AIDS, Chron’s, HIV, sickle cell anemia, nausea and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the governor will get the vast majority of the appointments to a “Compassionate Use Advisory Board,” which can add other conditions to the list as it sees fit. The Department of Health and Human Services is required to police whether the system is being used as intended.

Last week, the bill raced through the state Senate with overwhelming majorities. It has yet to receive a hearing in the House.

The arguments against medical marijuana are numerous, but they can be boiled down to two fronts. First, approving medical marijuana is essentially a backdoor way to legalize its recreational use. And two, there's no evidence that marijuana is legitimate for medicinal purposes. 

While the FDA has approved some marijuana-derived medicines, it has not approved so-called "botanical" marijuana for medicinal use, despite years of study. Instead, it warns that "the use of unapproved cannabis and cannabis-derived products can have unpredictable and unintended consequences, including serious safety risks."

The medical community is also largely against it. Even though the American Medical Association is captured by the political left, it still formally opposes the legalization of medical marijuana.

I’ll grant that some truly ill people may perceive benefits from medical marijuana. But at what cost?

“Card mills,” similar to the “pill mills” that devastated rural North Carolina, will want to set up shop to prescribe marijuana en masse — unless you trust the executive branch to rigorously enforce laws against them. Our roads and workplaces will be less safe. And this damaging drug will be front-and-center for children across the state.

Marijuana will essentially be elevated to the same position alcohol currently holds — a ubiquitous and celebrated substance that children grow up familiar with. That’s not the type of state many North Carolina parents want to see.

About the sports gambling efforts

This year’s version of a sports wagering bill has yet to be filed, but it will likely be similar to the bill that failed by a single vote in the House last year. Berger told the Carolina Journal that he expects it to pass in 2023.

In short, the gambling bill would allow 10 to 12 corporate bookies to set up shop in North Carolina, allowing people in the state to bet on professional, collegiate, amateur and video game sports from their phones. Youth sports are excluded.

Companies would pay a $500,000 fee for the privilege of running gambling operations in the state. And in return, sports arenas will set up computer terminals or other special booths designated to promote betting on their platforms. Every sporting event in the state would now become an advertisement for gambling, and expect sports bars and restaurants to follow suit — not to mention the sports media.

Republicans are pushing this bill under the guise of “stimulating economic activity” and creating jobs. Sen. Jim Perry (R-Lenoir) also couches his support for the bill with a libertarian argument: “I don’t bet on sports, and that was my decision to make. If an adult enjoys doing so, that should be their choice,” he told Carolina Journal.

Well, sure, but maximizing individual negative freedom is not the ultimate goal of government. There are plenty of things adults may enjoy that remain illegal, and justifiably so. Fostering positive freedom — the conditions under which society flourishes — is just as important.

North Carolina families should have the freedom to bring their children to a ballgame and enjoy the sport, without being forced to parade them through a corporatized gambling den. And how many thousands more North Carolina families will be devastated by a parent suffering from a gambling addiction?

Why these are popular

I frequently advise Republicans to lean into 70/30 issues, areas of broad agreement where they can boldly push for the true priorities of North Carolinians.

This typically refers to things like school choice and parental rights — but you can certainly make an argument that medical marijuana and sports gambling are 70/30 issues as well.

Nearly three-quarters of North Carolinians reportedly support medical marijuana, according to a Meredith Poll in February. That includes about 64% of Republicans in support, and 75% of unaffiliated voters.

Public support for sports gambling is considerably weaker but still strong. Just under half of N.C. voters support creating sports gambling in the state, though it is a plurality, according to the Meredith Poll. About one-third of voters oppose it, and 20% said they were unsure. 

There’s a generational divide at play, too. Younger people are more likely to support both. Legislative leaders are undoubtedly keen to make inroads into a demographic that leans largely to the left.

But there’s a difference between marijuana and gambling and, say, school choice. Education is an animating issue in North Carolina politics. Weed and wagering are not. No 25-year-old voter is going to read about legalization and think, “Gosh, Republicans are cool and hip now. They’ve got my vote.” Republicans don’t stand to lose many votes by punting on the issue, either.

Instead, Democrats will use these victories to continue to push their own agenda — especially full legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

I get that my argument sounds a little pearl-clutching and old-fashioned. But I believe my conservative political philosophy demands it. Neither marijuana nor gambling improves the quality of life in North Carolina. Quite the opposite: Enabling these vices erodes the fabric of our society, all for a few hundred million more dollars in the state coffers.

Lottery 2.0, with a twist

Nearly 20 years ago, the General Assembly faced an eerily similar type of debate over instituting a state lottery. For years, it had been a Democratic Party priority, with Republicans standing firmly against it. But polling showed the majority of the state approved of joining most of the country in sponsoring a lottery, and legislators in moderate districts felt some pressure to fall in line. Doing so, however, would put Republicans at risk of a primary challenge.

Of course, Republicans then never did cave on the lottery issue. The Democratic majority rammed it through in 2005 when two Republicans missed a session, suspending chamber rules to get the necessary votes. 

It's sad to see Republicans caving on this type of moral, quality-of-life issue today.