What you need to know about the medical marijuana bill in the South Carolina State House

Devyani Chhetri, Greenville News
·2 min read

After seven sessions of circling the South Carolina State House, the medical marijuana bill, sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, will have a shot on the Senate floor.

As South Carolina debates the "most conservative" medical cannabis bill, perceptions of the drug and the scope of its use are resurfacing.

For Subscribers: He tried cannabis when nothing else worked. Now South Carolina is debating its medical use

What you need to know about South Carolina's proposed medical marijuana bill

  • Davis refers to it as the most "conservative" and restrictive cannabis bill in the U.S. If passed, this bill would legalize medical marijuana in the form of oils, patches, creams, gummies, edibles, etc., but it doesn't allow marijuana to be legal in a combustible form where it is lit and smoked like a regular cigarette.

  • Only 13 conditions, including cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, among others can qualify as a reason to consume medical marijuana, unlike other states such as Mississippi, which has 26.

  • These conditions need a doctor's note and recommendations and can only be bought from a dispensary that is overseen by DHEC and is run by a pharmacist.

  • The bill, called the "Compassionate Care Act" derives most of its support from groups of veterans, parents and patients with long-term ailments, such as cancer. They have said that cannabis helps alleviate pain and provide relief in severe cases of PTSD.

  • Law enforcement agencies, including the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and county sheriffs, and conservative Christian lobbying groups have resisted the bill since its conception. They have argued that marijuana is a "gateway drug" that would lead to increased consumption of other drugs.

  • SLED Chief Mark Keel has said that the proposed state law goes against the federal law, which currently categorizes marijuana as a "Schedule I" substance. Keel said that the federal government should first approve marijuana as a medicine.

  • Nationally, federal inaction and state marijuana systems have led to gaps that have affected U.S.-based marijuana research.

  • Already, 37 states have worked around federal law and have passed versions of a medical marijuana bill.

  • According to a poll released in Dec. 2021 by Starboard Communications and the Cannabis Alliance for South Carolina, 54% of South Carolinians support legalizing medical marijuana in the state in the first round of polling. In the Upstate, 57% of the population supported the legalization, 25% opposed it and 18% were unsure.

  • In the second round, after voters were informed of the arguments made by advocates and opponents of the bill, 67% of South Carolinians said they supported medical cannabis legalization.

Devyani Chhetri is the state government watchdog reporter. You can reach her at dchhetri@gannett.com or @ChhetriDevyani on Twitter. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, Upstate Capitol Report, to get the inside scoop on South Carolina politics, straight from her, every Monday.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SC medical marijuana bill: Here's what to know