Medical marijuana again makes its way to the South Carolina House

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Senate again on Wednesday passed a bill allowing people to use marijuana and related products for medical needs.

Just like in 2022, Republican Tom Davis’ bill is off to the House. It died back then on a procedural ruling in the final days of the session, crushing the Beaufort senator who has been working to pass it for a decade.

Davis said he likes his chances this time and asked House leaders to hold a vote on the bill before the session ends in May and it dies because of all the work that has gone into it.

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

The Senate approved the bill 24-19 with a bipartisan mix of yes and no votes.

To get support in a conservative state like South Carolina, Davis has crafted one of the most restrictive medical marijuana programs in the country. He promises over and over again that he has no intent to allow recreational marijuana use.

Smoking the drug would be illegal. Instead, patients would have to use oil, salves, patches or vaporizers. The illnesses that can be treated are specified, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, sickle cell anemia, autism and some post-traumatic stress disorder diagnoses. The marijuana could be obtained only through specially chosen pharmacies.

Doctors would have to meet patients in person, and patients could only get a two-week supply at one time. Employers could ban their workers from using the drug.

Opponents of the bill worried the proposal would open the door to allowing recreational marijuana. They say federal rules still don’t allow marijuana for medical use, and it hasn’t been thoroughly studied.

“I can’t think of a more dangerous place for us to get out of our lane,” said Republican Sen. Greg Hembree of Little River.

Davis started basically with only himself, taking up the issue after hearing from the wife of the senator he replaced who suffered from trigeminal neuralgia, a rare nerve disorder that causes excruciating pain in her head.

Margaret Richardson, who calls herself a conservative Christian, first took opioids, but they wrecked her body. At the end of her rope, someone suggested a cannabis vape pen. It changed her life. She slept 13 hours that night. But now she and her husband had to figure out how to get more.

“If your wife was howling in pain and you had something on your nightstand that could give her immediate relief, would you tell her no?” Davis said. “You’d break the law.”

Davis then heard from more and more people who said medical marijuana was their only hope. He started each day in the Senate in 2016 with another story about someone he met. He spoke to his colleagues one-on-one, finally getting a Senate floor debate in 2022. The Senate passed the bill 28-15.

The bill made it through a House committee and on to the floor in May 2022 before Republican House Speaker Pro Tem Tommy Pope ruled it contained an unconstitutional tax increase and could not be considered further. The ruling came as opponents rolled a cart with 1,000 amendments to the front of the House chamber.

Davis removed the 6% fee on medical marijuana sales that caused the House leader to rule against him in this bill.

Jeffrey Collins, The Associated Press