MORNING NEWSBREAK | A panel of state House legislators on Tuesday failed to make a decision on a Senate-passed bill that would legalize medical marijuana in South Carolina.
“It’s unfortunate,”state Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, told the City Paper Tuesday afternoon. “We passed this in early February and it just sat over there gathering dust. To set hearings with just three weeks left to go in the session creates a procedural impediment that was intentional, quite frankly.”
Davis, who has been pushing the measure for nine years, has said the proposed medical marijuana measure would be the most restrictive in the country. It calls for decriminalizing the drug to relieve pain and suffering for people with certain conditions, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder. It would allow people to eat, vape or apply cannabis as a lotion, but not smoke it as a joint.
“I don’t want to put thoughts in anybody else’s head, but you have to wonder if they [House members] were ever serious about taking it up and debating it honestly,” Davis said.
In related news, the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday recommended that marijuana be rescheduled as a Schedule III controlled substance, a classification shared by prescription drugs such as ketamine, testosterone and Tylenol with codeine.
Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, which is the same level as addictive substances like heroin which the Drug Enforcement Administration describes as having no currently accepted medical use.
Though the federal recommendation doesn’t decriminalize marijuana, it’s a significant shift from the government that acknowledges the medical benefits of the long-criminalized drug and carries broad implications for cannabis-related research and the industry at large.
In other area headlines:
CP NEWS: Where to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Charleston. There are plenty of places to celebrate the Mexican holiday around Charleston and City Paper rounded up a few that are throwing parties and featuring food and drink specials.
Longtime North Charleston councilman King dies at 90. Longtime North Charleston city Councilman Robert “Bob” Norman King died April 26 at 90-years-old. King spent a combined 54 years stewarding the community as a public servant and pursuing a vision for improving his Park Circle district.
Charleston’s King Street rideshare program to begin today. Charleston’s Rideshare Pilot Program guides all drivers to pick up and drop off travelers at five locations in the area from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. every night.
Ex-Charleston councilman allegedly funneled campaign funds to himself. The S.C. Ethics Commission has leveled 39 charges against former Charleston City Councilman Harry Griffin for campaign finance violations, including accusations by state ethics officials that he funneled more than $11,000 in campaign funds into a personal account.
- Previous CP coverage: Griffin to be focus of hearing on 39 ethics allegations
Charleston considers honor for historic city synagogue. The city of Charleston will consider adding a historical marker to pay tribute to the oldest Jewish sanctuary in continuous use in America.
Charleston educator using animals to calm children. A Charleston County teacher is using animals to remind her students they can find peace inside and outside of the classroom.
USPS plans to restructure its North Charleston hub. The U.S. Postal Service announced April 30 it will invest up to $15.2 million to modernize its longtime North Charleston processing and distribution hub while also moving some work to the Midlands.
Union Pier buyer’s environmental cleanup plan reveals test result. Union Pier buyer Ben Navarro is asking the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to approve a deal that would let his company remove contaminants at the 65-acre site without taking on financial and other liabilities created by previous owners.
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