A week after Democrats flipped the North Carolina House for the first time since 2010, incoming Speaker Robert Reives used his first press conference to put marijuana decriminalization at the top of the new majority's agenda. He also made clear that any legal cannabis market must give the state's farmers an opportunity to participate.
North Carolina's incoming House speaker is putting marijuana reform near the top of the new Democratic majority's agenda. One week after Democrats won control of the chamber, Robert Reives used his first press conference as presumptive speaker to address decriminalization, medical marijuana and who should have the opportunity to participate in a future legal cannabis industry.
Reives Says Decriminalization Is "On Top of Everybody's Minds"
Robert Reives held his first press conference as the presumptive speaker of the North Carolina House on Tuesday morning in Raleigh, one week after Democrats won control of the chamber in the midterm elections. During the question-and-answer portion, marijuana reform came up directly.
"Decriminalization of marijuana has been on top of everybody's minds," Reives said.
Reives, a Democrat from Chatham County who has led the House Democratic caucus since 2021, also connected medical marijuana to his own family.
"I've got a veteran family. My dad served. My uncle served, and all that. And it's just, I want everything we can to help our veterans, and that is one of the top items that people have talked about," he said.
He added that his caucus has "always been interested in" passing medical marijuana legislation.
Reives Draws a Line Against Picking Industry Winners
Reives also offered an indication of how he would evaluate future legalization legislation: who gets the opportunity to participate in the market.
He said he would not support "picking winners and losers in the industry."
"I'm not doing that," he said.
"It is an industry just like any other industry, and so if we authorize it, it should be authorized in such a way that our farmers, [with] agriculture still our top industry, that all of them have an opportunity to make that decision to be involved in [the] process," he said. "If anybody wants to try to sell me on the fact that there are people who have particular expertise that can do this, and nobody else can do it, I'm going to have a real good talk with them."
Reives did not announce a specific decriminalization proposal, identify a possession threshold, take a position on expunging past convictions or commit to a vote.
His prepared remarks did not mention cannabis. Every marijuana comment came in response to reporters' questions.
The House That Blocked Reform Has Changed Hands
The political setting matters. Democrats won control of the North Carolina House for the first time since 2010. At least 66 Democratic seats have been called, and if unofficial results hold through recounts, the chamber will seat 71 Democrats, 48 Republicans and one unaffiliated member.
In his prepared remarks, Reives called it "the largest Democratic Majority in the North Carolina House since 1992."
For years, the House was where North Carolina cannabis reform stalled.
The Republican-controlled Senate passed the NC Compassionate Care Act (SB 3), a full medical marijuana program, by 36–10 in March 2023. The Republican House never gave it a hearing.
In 2024, the Senate approved medical marijuana language by the same 36–10 margin, this time attached to a hemp-regulation bill, HB 563. The House did not advance the Senate's medical cannabis provisions, referring the amended bill to its Rules Committee instead; the legislation ultimately became law in a different form, without the medical marijuana program.
The House Democratic Caucus meets November 16 to formally select its nominee for speaker. Reives announced on November 6 that he already holds commitments from a majority of the incoming House.
The full chamber elects its speaker on January 13, 2027, the day the new General Assembly convenes.
Small Possession Is Already Fine-Only, but It Still Creates a Criminal Record
North Carolina is often described as already having decriminalized marijuana, but the reality is narrower.
Under state law (G.S. 90-95(d)(4)), possessing half an ounce of marijuana or less is a Class 3 misdemeanor. No jail time can be imposed, and the fine is capped at $200.
Possessing more than half an ounce up to 1.5 ounces is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Possessing more than 1.5 ounces is a Class I felony. Possessing marijuana paraphernalia is a separate Class 3 misdemeanor.
Small-amount possession is therefore fine-only, but it remains a criminal conviction on a person's record.
Police are still making the arrests in volume: the FBI recorded 11,434 cannabis possession arrests in North Carolina in 2025 — 12,301 cannabis arrests in all — according to the Marijuana Policy Project's analysis of federal data.
Eligible past convictions can be expunged through a court petition, subject to statutory eligibility requirements and waiting periods. North Carolina does not automatically expunge prior marijuana possession convictions.
Decriminalization, whenever a bill defines it, would address that record-and-arrest machinery, the part of the current system that the fine-only description can obscure.
The Senate Could Still Decide Whether Reform Moves Forward
Anything that passes the House must also clear the Senate, where control remains unsettled.
Democrats flipped four Senate seats and hold 24. The chamber's balance turns on Senate District 24, where Republican Sen. Danny Britt leads Democrat Catina Hamm by roughly 228 votes after Tuesday's provisional-ballot counts, down from 268 on election night.
Hamm can request a recount, with a deadline of noon on November 17. The State Board of Elections certifies results November 24.
If Britt holds, Republicans keep the Senate 26–24. If Hamm overtakes him, the chamber ties 25–25, with Democratic Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt breaking tied votes.
The Senate will also have a new Republican leader either way. Longtime President Pro Tempore Phil Berger lost his primary in March.
As of Tuesday evening, no Republican had publicly responded to Reives' marijuana comments.
One structural change is already certain: the veto-proof Republican supermajorities that overrode Gov. Josh Stein 12 times in the outgoing legislature are gone in both chambers.
Governor Stein Has Already Put Legalization on the Table
Reives is not pushing against his own governor.
Stein created the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis by executive order in June 2025. The council's interim report, released April 2, 2026, recommended an adult-use regulatory model with built-in protections for medical patients, and Stein publicly endorsed legalizing recreational marijuana.
The council's final recommendations are due to the governor by December 31, 2026, two weeks before the new legislature convenes.
As North Carolina attorney general, Stein co-chaired the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, which recommended decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2020.
Public opinion also points toward reform.
A SurveyUSA poll conducted October 7–11 for WRAL News and WSOC-TV found 74 percent of North Carolina registered voters support legalizing medical marijuana and 63 percent support legalizing recreational marijuana, including 52 percent of Republicans on the recreational question.
The Eastern Band Already Sells to Adults, but Only on Tribal Land
North Carolina already has a legal adult-use marijuana market within its borders.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians sells marijuana to all adults 21 and older at its dispensary on the Qualla Boundary, as it has since September 7, 2024.
Outside the Qualla Boundary, possession remains prohibited under North Carolina law.
The next steps in the legislative process are approaching quickly: the House Democratic Caucus vote on November 16, a possible Senate recount requested by November 17, election certification on November 24, the cannabis council's final report on December 31, and the opening gavel on January 13.
No bill has been filed yet. Every previous effort has died in the House without a vote.
But for the first time since 2010, the person setting the North Carolina House's agenda is publicly putting marijuana reform near the top of the conversation.
Sources
- Reives press conference remarks and video, Office of Leader Robert Reives, Nov. 10, 2026. Link
- Marijuana Moment. “Decriminalizing Marijuana In North Carolina Is 'On Top Of Everybody's Minds,' Incoming House Speaker Says.” Nov. 10, 2026. Link
- The Marijuana Herald. “Incoming North Carolina House Speaker Says Marijuana Decriminalization Is a Major Focus Following Democratic Victory.” Nov. 10, 2026. Link
- N.C. General Statutes § 90-95(d)(4) and § 90-113.22A. Link
- North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis, Interim Report, Apr. 2, 2026 (NCDHHS). Link
- SurveyUSA News Poll #28047 (WRAL News / WSOC-TV), fielded Oct. 7-11, 2026.
- Marijuana Policy Project. “2026 Cannabis Arrest Report” (FBI Crime Explorer data). Link
- 2026 unofficial election results, N.C. State Board of Elections (via State Affairs / EdNC reporting).
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