S.C. Senate passes medical marijuana bill — again

MORNING NEWSBREAK | The S.C. Senate on Wednesday again passed a bill that would allow people to use marijuana and related products for medical needs, sending it off to the S.C. House just like in 2022.

The Senate approved the bill 24-19 in a bipartisan mix of votes in favor and against the bill.

A previous bill died on a procedural ruling in the final days of the 2022 session, but the bill’s lead sponsor, S.C. Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, said he likes the chances of final passage this time. Davis reportedly removed a 6% fee on medical marijuana sales that caused it to be ruled as containing an unconstitutional tax increase.

“I can’t think of a bill that has undergone more testimony, more scrutiny and more debate,” Davis said in an Associated Press report.

Davis said the measure doesn’t intend to allow recreational marijuana use, and that under his newly passed bill, smoking marijuana would still be illegal. Patients would instead use oil, salves, patches or vaporizers. Illnesses that can be treated with marijuana products are also specified, including cancer, sickle cell anemia, autism and some post-traumatic stress disorders.

Opponents of the bill aren’t so sure.

“I can’t think of a more dangerous place for us to get out of our lane,” S.C. Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Little River, said in an AP report.

The bill could also limit the state Department of Health and Environmental Control’s power over product labels for hemp-infused beverages, a recent crackdown that has some local businesses feeling threatened.

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