H563 Summary: Hemp-Derived Consumables Regulation

• Regulates hemp-derived consumable products through new Chapter 18D, establishing licensing requirements for manufacturers, distributors, and sellers, with an excise tax of 10.5% on retail sales effective July 1, 2025.

• Bans hemp-derived consumable products from school grounds and requires policies prohibiting use on school property, including buses and at school-sponsored events.

• Adds controlled substances to state schedules: Tianeptine (Schedule II), Xylazine (Schedule III), and Kratom (Schedule VI), effective December 1, 2024.

• Enacts the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act to allow regulated medical cannabis use for patients with debilitating conditions, establishing a Medical Cannabis Production Commission, registry system for qualified patients and caregivers, and supervised supplier licensing.

• Creates new criminal offenses for unlawful sale and possession of embalming fluid and for exposing children to controlled substances; requires practitioners to provide opioid antagonist education when prescribing Schedule II opioids (effective December 1, 2025).