The new drug laws in North Carolina, passed across the 2023 and 2025 legislative sessions, create standalone fentanyl penalties with mandatory sentences measured in decades, broaden the state’s death-by-distribution statute to reach non-sale handoffs, add a new felony for exposing children to controlled substances, bring hemp-derived products under age and packaging rules, and expand immunity for people who call 911 during an overdose. Medical marijuana has still not been legalized.
Fentanyl and Carfentanil Now Have Their Own Penalties
Session Law 2025-70 took effect December 1, 2025, and pulled fentanyl and carfentanil out of the general Schedule II penalty scheme that previously governed them. The result is a sharper, heavier set of consequences aimed specifically at these two substances.
Simple possession of fentanyl or carfentanil is now a Class H felony. That is a significant escalation from the Class 1 misdemeanor that still applies to ordinary Schedule II possession. Selling, delivering, manufacturing, or possessing either substance with intent to sell or deliver is a Class F felony.
The trafficking thresholds carry mandatory prison time that judges cannot reduce:
- 4 grams to under 14 grams: Class E felony, 90 to 120 months.
- 14 grams to under 28 grams: Class D felony, 175 to 222 months.
- 28 grams or more: 225 to 282 months and a $1 million fine.
Fentanyl is potent by weight, so these thresholds come up fast. A person holding just over an ounce faces close to 19 years at the low end, plus the seven-figure fine, with no discretion for the court to go lower.
Death by Distribution Reaches More Conduct
Senate Bill 189, signed in September 2023 as Session Law 2023-123, rewrote N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-18.4.1North Carolina General Assembly. Senate Bill 189 – SL 2023-123 Before the change, prosecutors needed a sale to charge death by distribution. The revised statute adds a separate track for distribution without a traditional sale. That matters because many fatal overdoses involve someone passing drugs to a friend rather than running a commercial transaction.
The penalties sit in tiers. Distribution causing death without malice is a Class C felony, with a presumptive minimum starting around 58 months at the lowest prior record level. If the distributor acted with malice, or if the conduct involved an actual sale, the offense becomes a Class B2 felony, presumptive minimum starting at 125 months.2North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-18.4 – Death by Distribution of Certain Controlled Substances With a qualifying prior drug conviction within the lookback period, the charge becomes aggravated death by distribution, a Class B1 felony. At the lowest prior record level, the presumptive minimum for Class B1 runs 192 to 240 months, and at the highest prior record level with aggravating factors it can reach life without parole.3North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 15A-1340.17 – Punishment Limits for Each Class of Offense and Prior Record Level
Prosecutors do not have to prove the distributor intended anyone to die. They only have to show that the distribution was the proximate cause of the death. That lower bar makes these cases easier to bring than a traditional murder charge, though the state still needs a direct causal link between the substance provided and the fatality.
A New Felony for Exposing a Child to Controlled Substances
The 2025 legislation also created N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-318.7, a new offense for exposing a child under 16 to a controlled substance. The penalty scales with what happens to the child:
- Exposure alone, knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly: Class H felony.
- Ingestion by the child: Class E felony.
- Serious physical injury: Class D felony.
- Serious bodily injury: Class C felony.
- Death: Class B1 felony, carrying the same sentencing range as aggravated death by distribution.
There is a narrow exception. A parent or caregiver who gives a child a controlled substance that was prescribed to that child by a licensed medical professional, in the correct dose and manner, is not covered. Outside that exception, an adult can be prosecuted even for careless exposure, such as leaving drugs within reach of a child in the home.
Hemp Products: Age Limits and Packaging Rules
North Carolina first brought hemp under a permanent framework through Senate Bill 455 in 2022, which matched the state’s definition of hemp to the 2018 federal Farm Bill: cannabis with no more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis.4North Carolina General Assembly. Session Law 2022-32 – Senate Bill 455 Delta-8 edibles and Delta-9 beverages became common at retail, but the 2022 law said little about who could buy them or how they had to be packaged.
House Bill 607, introduced in the 2025 session with an effective date of July 1, 2026, fills those gaps. Sales of hemp-derived consumable products are limited to buyers at least 21 years old. Retailers must check identification for any customer who appears to be under 30. Online sellers must verify age before shipping and require a signature from someone 21 or older on delivery.5North Carolina General Assembly. House Bill 607 – Hemp-Derived Consumable Products
Packaging requirements are detailed. Products must meet federal child-resistant effectiveness standards, and exit packaging from retail stores must also be childproof. Branding cannot use cartoon characters, superheroes, video game characters, mythical creatures, or imagery designed to look like candy, cereal, or snack packaging. Giving a hemp-derived consumable to anyone under 21 is a separate offense, and minors who buy or possess these products also face penalties.5North Carolina General Assembly. House Bill 607 – Hemp-Derived Consumable Products
Traveling With Hemp Products
Hemp products that stay within the 0.3% Delta-9 THC limit are federally legal to carry on flights under the 2018 Farm Bill. TSA officers are not actively looking for cannabis products, but anything that looks suspicious gets referred to local law enforcement. Keep edibles or CBD in sealed original packaging with clear labeling, and carry a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis matching the lot number on the product. Beverages are subject to the standard TSA 3.4-ounce liquid limit. Marijuana-derived products remain prohibited regardless of any state medical card.
Expanded Immunity for Overdose Calls
North Carolina’s Good Samaritan law, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-96.2, gives limited immunity to people who call 911 during an overdose. Seek medical help in good faith, identify yourself, and be the first person to call, and you cannot be prosecuted for misdemeanor drug possession or for felony possession of less than one gram of a controlled substance. The same immunity extends to the person who overdosed, as long as the evidence against them came from the 911 call.6North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 90-96.2 – Drug-Related Overdose Treatment; Limited Immunity
The immunity does not cover larger quantities, trafficking charges, situations where police were already executing a search warrant, or distribution and sale offenses. It does protect people on probation or parole: calling 911 during an overdose cannot be treated as a new criminal offense that triggers revocation. In 2025, the legislature added possession of less than 28 grams of embalming fluid to the list of covered offenses, reflecting its use as an illicit drug additive.6North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 90-96.2 – Drug-Related Overdose Treatment; Limited Immunity
The state also maintains a standing order for naloxone, signed by the State Health Director, that lets any pharmacist in North Carolina dispense the opioid-reversal medication without an individual prescription. The order does not expire and is renewed whenever the State Health Director changes.
Medical Marijuana Is Still Not Law
Senate Bill 3, the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act, would authorize a regulated medical cannabis program for patients with qualifying conditions including cancer, epilepsy, PTSD, HIV/AIDS, Crohn’s disease, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, sickle cell anemia, and terminal illness with a life expectancy under six months.7North Carolina General Assembly. Senate Bill 3 – NC Compassionate Care Act Patients would get a medical cannabis card with a physician’s certification and a $50 fee, and possession would be capped at a 30-day supply as determined by the prescribing physician.
The bill is not law. The 2023-2024 version passed the Senate but died in the House. A new version was introduced in January 2025 and referred to the Senate Rules committee, where it sits as of mid-2026. Until the Compassionate Care Act or similar legislation is signed by the governor, possession and sale of marijuana remain illegal in North Carolina under existing statutes.8North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 90-95 – Violations and Penalties
Conditional Discharge Still Exists for a First Offense
Not every drug charge ends in a conviction. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-96, a first-time offender charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, or certain low-level felony possession offenses, can get a conditional discharge. The court defers judgment, places you on probation for at least one year, and requires enrollment in a state-approved drug education program within 150 days.9North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 90-96 – Conditional Discharge for First Offense
Complete every condition and the court dismisses the charge without ever entering a conviction. The dismissal does not count as a conviction for future sentencing or for any legal disability tied to a criminal record. You can only use this option once in your lifetime, and failing the drug education program or breaking a probation term lets the court revoke the discharge, enter a guilty finding, and sentence you on the original charge. For someone caught with a small amount of a controlled substance, it is often the difference between a clean record and a permanent conviction.