CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Dozens of folks rallied at UNC Charlotte Thursday night hoping to see marijuana legalized in North Carolina for medical reasons.
Heading the rally was one-time Mecklenburg County sheriff-elect and current state representative Nick Mackey. The Charlotte Democrat is one of the sponsors of House Bill 1380, which would legalize pot for medical purposes.
"To me it's a no-brainer," Mackey told the crowd at the Cone Center. "I don't see what justification that we can have for knowing that there's something that can relieve the pain and suffering for so many patients with so many different conditions, [and not going] ahead and allowing them to get that relief."
One of the other speakers was Vietnam veteran and committed Christian Perry Parks, who doesn't exactly fit the stereotype of someone who wants to legalize pot.
Parks says he uses marijuana for a back injury he suffered in the National Guard. He says it's an injury doctors have never been able to completely fix.
"It has nothing to do with getting high," Parks said. "It has everything to do with relieving pain."
Parks said at first he was not in favor of the idea of using pot to relieve pain.
"To be honest, I thought it was an excuse just to use it," Parks said. "I have found since then, and I give you my word as an officer and a gentleman, that it absolutely provides the best pain relief that I've ever had."
Mackey is one of three primary sponsors of the bill that would legalize medical marijuana. Fellow Charlotte Democrat Kelly Alexander is one of two co-sponsors.
Not everyone in the state house thinks it's a great idea.
"Pain relief -- I get that," said Cornelius Republican state rep. Thom Tillis. "But this very clearly goes far beyond that."
Tillis says he doesn't buy the argument Mackey made Thursday night that the bill is all about medical purposes.
"It would be disingenuous for the sponsors to say that's all it's about," Tillis told WBTV. "I walk the halls of Raleigh, and I see the wink and the nod [as people say] 'it's only about pain relief.'"
Tillis also says this bill is just another way for North Carolina to tax people. Supporters don't shy away from that charge; they claim it would bring in over $60 million in taxes to the cash-strapped state in just its first year.
House Bill 1380, which has been dubbed the "Medical Marijuana Act," could be voted on this spring.
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