North Carolina Cannabis Panel Floats State-Run Marijuana Stores With Private Cultivation and Manufacturing
- North Carolina officials are exploring a marijuana regulation model where the state exclusively controls retail sales, while private businesses manage cultivation and manufacturing, based on draft recommendations from the state cannabis advisory panel.
- The proposed system would have a three-tier licensing structure separating production, distribution, and retail, with private licenses for cultivation and manufacturing, several wholesale distribution options, and state-controlled retail operations.
- Retail sales could be managed through either centralized state-operated stores or a structure similar to North Carolina’s existing Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) system, with a focus on moving consumers into the regulated market without promoting increased consumption.
- The advisory council, established by Governor Josh Stein in 2025, aims to create a comprehensive adult-use marijuana regulatory system emphasizing public health and safety, with final recommendations due by December 31, 2026.
North Carolina officials are considering a marijuana regulatory model in which the state would exclusively control retail sales while private businesses handle cultivation and manufacturing, according to newly released draft recommendations from a state cannabis advisory panel.
The two-page draft from the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis, prepared for discussion at a September 18 meeting of its Market and Regulatory Subcommittee, proposes a hybrid system drawing from North Carolina’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) structure and Quebec’s government-controlled marijuana market. The document is explicitly labeled “FOR DISCUSSION ONLY” and has not been adopted as a final recommendation.
Under the proposal, North Carolina would use a three-tier marijuana licensing system separating production, distribution and retail.
The first tier would consist of privately licensed cultivators and manufacturers responsible for growing, processing, manufacturing, packaging and labeling marijuana products. The draft proposes multiple cultivation license categories, including a Craft Farm Cannabis License designed specifically for North Carolina farmers and small marijuana businesses, alongside a standard cultivation license for larger operations and a separate manufacturing and processing license.
The second tier, covering wholesale distribution, remains less settled. The panel is considering three alternatives: independently licensed private wholesalers, a state-operated central marijuana warehouse modeled after North Carolina’s ABC warehouse, or a hybrid system combining private wholesale businesses with an optional state warehouse.
Retail sales would be the most directly state-controlled part of the system. The draft calls for either creating a North Carolina Cannabis Control Commission or assigning retail oversight to an existing state entity, accompanied by a separate state marijuana retail system.
Two retail models are under consideration. One would establish centralized state-operated marijuana stores. The other would more closely resemble North Carolina’s existing ABC system, with a state marijuana commission, local marijuana boards and locally operated stores.
The stated objective would be to move consumers into the regulated legal market without encouraging marijuana consumption. The draft also identifies statewide product approval, limits on vertical integration, a controlled retail footprint and a role for local governments as key components.
Officials are also considering using retail pricing as a tool to compete with the illicit market. The document notes that state control of stores would not necessarily require the state to set prices.
The proposal represents the latest step in a broader examination of marijuana policy ordered by Governor Josh Stein. Stein established the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis in June 2025 and directed it to recommend a comprehensive statewide approach focused on public health, public safety and creating a regulated market for adults.
An interim report approved earlier this year recommended an adult-use regulatory system with protections for medical consumers. The council is scheduled to submit its final recommendations to the governor by December 31, 2026.
The panel was established by Governor Stein in 2025, but was expanded earlier this year. It will provide a recommendation no later than October 2027.