RALEIGH, N.C. — A week after the N.C. Senate passed the Compassionate Care Act, which would legalize medical marijuana, David and Mary Carter were at the General Assembly.
What You Need To Know
The medical marijuana bill passed in the state Senate
An advocate with cancer says cannabis has helped halt his tumor's growth and deal with pain
The bill now sits in the state House
The couple was there to speak to state representatives, tell their story and urge the lawmakers to pass the bill in the House as well.
“I do a lot of public speaking anyway because I love training. I love teaching people,” David Carter said. “So it doesn’t bother me to stand in front of people to take and help them understand my point of view.”
The Carters are advocates of medical marijuana for a few reasons.
The first is David’s diagnosis. He has inter-cranial melanoma, brain cancer. He’s battled it for over a decade.
In 2010, Mary began researching medical marijuana.
“Back then, and still today, medical marijuana is not legal here in North Carolina, but, you know, we couldn’t move because he had young children. He had a job, and we couldn’t just move to Colorado or California, wherever those places where it’s legal,” Mary Carter said.
The research turned into a career. They now own two CBD shops and help advise their patients on how to manage their pain with cannabis.
“Me, being a cancer fighter and knowing that cannabis has helped me, even the CBD stuff, the basics, they’ve helped me. Knowing that they help people like me and friends I know, why not fight for it?” David Carter said.
A few years ago when the cancer came back aggressively, he shifted his diet and treatment. Instead of relying on chemo and other medication, he focused on a clean diet and high doses of full spectrum CBD.
“As of my last MRI, they reported that whatever I’m doing, is what I get told, and to me it’s cannabis and cuisine,” David Carter said. “What I’m eating and what cannabis I’m using have helped overall with the cancer not growing any further.”
David and Mary Carter say all they can do is share their story and experiences and hope what they share doesn’t fall on deaf ears.
Some opponents of the bill say it opens the doors for recreational marijuana in the state.
Carter echoed advocates from veterans' groups who also visited the legislature, saying the goal isn’t to get high. It’s to live a normal, productive life, free of pain.
“The tumors themselves have a byproduct of a lot of pain, and micro-dosing cannabis in general helps abate the pain, and I’m able to function. I’m still able to have a normal day where I’m not high, I’m just feeling OK. And if that is enabled, I’ll be much happier.”
So far, there hasn't been any movement in the House on the bill.
House Speaker Tim Moore has cast doubt on the bill passing in this short session.