Despite perennial high hopes among pot legalization supporters, few expect major changes to the state’s marijuana laws during the legislature’s 2025-26 session.
One possible exception? Medical marijuana, which passed the S.C. Senate last year before dying without a vote in the S.C. House.
Charleston Democratic Sen. Ed Sutton, a co-sponsor of the newly-revived medical marijuana bill, was, well, blunt about the need to act in an April 14 text exchange with the Charleston City Paper.
“The Compassionate Care Act remains a priority for veterans and those suffering from chronic pain,” he wrote. “People are demanding non-addictive alternatives to opioids, and I believe we need to empower patients and physicians with safer, evidence-based options.”
The bill, which primary sponsor Sen. Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) has characterized as “the most conservative medical marijuana legislation in the country,” would allow for prescription-only use under strictly controlled circumstances.
For instance, state government would exercise tight, end-to-end oversight of all production and distribution, and pharmacists would only be allowed to dispense the drug in medically-typical forms like tinctures — no smokable flower allowed.
But with only 12 days left in this year’s legislative session, Statehouse observers expect the bill to be pushed into 2026 — when it’s likely to re-emerge from the Senate, but again face long odds in the weed-wacker House.
Still, Sutton sounds optimistic about medical marijuana’s future in the Palmetto State.
“This bill gives us a path forward — one that’s medically regulated, tightly controlled and long overdue in South Carolina,” Sutton said.
In other recent news
S.C. Supreme Court rules trial to remove Loftis can continue. The S.C. Supreme Court has rejected a last-minute bid by state Treasurer Curtis Loftis to stall a Senate-led effort to remove him from office, setting the stage for what is likely to be a contentious Statehouse trial on Easter Monday.
S.C. hemp industry has seen ups, downs. The number of South Carolina’s licensed hemp farmers has fluctuated widely since a commercialization experiment began in 2018. The number of farmers soared to 265 in the first two years, riding high hopes and big-dollar dreams, but crashed to just 98 in 2024 as hemp prices fell from up to $30 per pound to less than $5.
S.C. House, Senate reach agreement on private school vouchers. Despite Democratic objections, the S.C. House and Senate look ready to move forward with legislation to provide 15,000 Palmetto State families with $7,500 vouchers to cover private school tuition.
S.C. Senate tacks on tort reform to House liquor bill. The state Senate amended the House’s liquor liability bill that the chamber’s Republican leader says puts the chances of tort reform in a better posture to advance.
Bill would impose guardrails on S.C.’s license plate reading cameras. A bill advancing in the state Senate would impose regulations on the cameras located across South Carolina known as automatic license plate readers.
New bill to increase penalties for killing S.C. police dogs. Law enforcement officers have seen an uptick in violence toward police dogs, prompting the state Senate to increase the potential fines and prison time for anyone who kills or injures a police dog or horse in the state.
Bipartisan group of S.C. lawmakers and business leaders invite Trump to BMW factory. A bipartisan collection of South Carolina lawmakers and business leaders is inviting President Donald Trump to visit BMW Manufacturing’s Upstate plant after a White House trade advisor criticized the automaker’s business on national TV.
McMaster’s climate change czar survives millionaire opposition, climate change doubts. Gov. Henry McMaster’s choice to lead the S.C. Department of Environmental Services advanced to the Senate floor despite pushback from a multimillionaire donor and a powerful state legislator who intensely questioned her belief in man-made climate change.
Why S.C. lawmakers want to dismiss thousands of pending gun charges. State lawmakers are weighing whether pending criminal gun charges hundreds of South Carolinians face should be dropped.
S.C.’s Limestone University says it’s likely to close due to $30 million debt burden. Founded in 1845, Gaffney’s Limestone University announced yesterday that it will likely have to close its campus at the end of this semester for financial reasons. Officials say they would try to remain open if $6 million could be raised quickly.
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