S.C. Senate votes to legalize, regulate THC products

MORNING HEADLINES | After a frantic 24 hours of floor fights, failed votes and quiet backroom dealmaking, the S.C. Senate on Thursday passed a bill to formally legalize and regulate the THC-infused beverages and gummies that have been on store shelves across the state since they were first authorized in the 2018 federal farm bill.

To be legal, the THC must be derived from hemp, not marijuana.

Under the Senate bill, sales of 12-ounce drinks containing up to 5 milligrams of THC could be sold in retail outlets with beer and wine licenses. Stronger drinks, as well as gummies of up to 40 milligrams, would have to be sold in liquor stores. On-premise consumption would be forbidden anywhere.

Charleston Democratic Sen. Ed Sutton, one of four members to vote against the legislation, questioned the wisdom of pushing people into liquor stores.

“We are going to force alcoholics into liquor stores to get gummies, and I think that is a very bad mistake,” he said.

The bill now moves to the S.C. House, which tried and failed to pass either a full or partial ban on the products in February. —Jack O’Toole

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In today’s issue of the Charleston City Paper

CP NEWS: Charleston spending six figures for largely unused office space. The noise has gotten so bad at a floor of city-rented downtown space that employees are wearing noise-canceling-headphones designed for use on airport runways. And it still isn’t enough.

CP OPINION: Investigate Weaver’s homeschool vouchers but hold lawmakers accountable, too. “It’s not every day you catch a South Carolina superintendent of education trying to wriggle out from under tough questions by deploying what amounts to an old Brady Bunch bit.”

CP CARTOON: Stegelin: May the odds be ever in their favor!
CP CARTOON: Ariail: Highway to nowhere

CP FEATURE: Today’s school lunches aren’t the sloppy joes of yore. School lunch is not what it used to be. The old days of fish sticks and rectangular pizza are gone. What students eat in schools in 2026 is much different than when their parents were growing up.

CP FOOD: A taste of Afghanistan in the Lowcountry. There is often no better way to understand a culture than to experience its cuisine. North Charleston’s Afghan Restaurant and Market, which opened in fall 2025 at 5101 Ashley Phosphate Road, is a testament to this.

CP ARTS: Award-winning comedy about cancer to make Charleston debut March 26. Film director Tony Benna has spent a lot of time on the festival circuit with his 2025 comedy/documentary André Is An Idiot about, of all things, cancer.

CP MUSIC: 5 hot Lowcountry shows for spring. Charleston’s concert calendar is never short on touring acts, but the city’s local musicians are just as worthy of the spotlight.

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Lowcountry boil water advisory lifted following pair of passed tests. Santee Cooper advised Friday morning that the advisory had been lifted after water testing showed it was once again safe.

James Island council discusses future of ‘controversial’ road project. The James Island Town Council voted to request that the South Carolina Department of Transportation remove a median from a planned safety improvement project.

Former Lowcountry attorney pleads guilty in federal fraud case. Now suspended attorney William Christopher Swett formally pled guilty in federal court in Charleston Thursday to wire fraud and money laundering as part of a scheme to steal more than $1 million from clients and his former law firm.

Newspaper creates database of police-related shootings. For the last couple of years, two journalists on The Post and Courier’s public safety team have worked to complete a database of all police shootings in South Carolina.

Charleston residents skeptical about feedback on affordable housing designs. Community members got their first real glimpse at potential designs for future affordable housing that city staff and architects from Europe and Savannah have been working on this week.

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