The Senate failed to pass a South Carolina medical cannabis legalization bill on Thursday, even though a majority of its members voted in favor of a special order motion brought by the Republican majority leader.
The Senate voted by a margin of 25-16 to approve the Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey’s (R) special order motion that would have brought the S.C. Compassionate Care Act into play again for the session in 2024. The Senate needed 28 votes in order to reach the supermajority of two-thirds required for special orders.
The legislation sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis, R, will not be considered this year. The legislative maneuver by Majority Leader A. Shane Massey, R. to streamline the consideration of this legislation at Thursday’s Meeting failed.
Danny Verdin, the Republican chairman of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee, said separately last month that wanted to “do it again” in this session so as to pass. The measure was approved by his committee last year but failed to advance past the crossover deadline.
A version of the bill passed the Senate in 2022 only for to stall in the House due to a procedural glitch.
Verdin stated last month that he was committed to a medical cannabis program for the well-being and health of South Carolinians.
The bill allows patients who receive a prescription from a physician for treatment of certain conditions to purchase cannabis at licensed dispensaries.
The main points of ‘s proposal are:
Patients with “debilitating medical conditions”, for which a recommendation for medical cannabis could be given, include those suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, PTSD, Crohn’s, autism, a terminal disease where the patient will live less than a year, and chronic illnesses where opioids would be the standard treatment.
State Department of Health and Environmental Control and Board of Pharmacy will be responsible for licensing cannabis businesses. This includes dispensaries, which must have a pharmacist present at all times.
The bill was revised in an attempt to prevent excessive market consolidation. It now includes language that requires regulators to limit the number of companies a person or organization can own more than five per cent interest, both at state and regional levels.
The “Medical Cannabis Advisory Board”, tasked with modifying or removing the qualifying conditions of the program, would be created. The original legislation was changed to allow legislative leaders to make appointments to the board, as well as the governor.
The bill does not include language that would impose a tax on the sale of medical cannabis, as was the case in the previous version. Due to the inclusion of tax provisions, the House rejected the previous bill due to procedural rules within the South Carolina Legislature that require that legislation that contains tax-related measures originates in this body and not the Senate.
The smoking of marijuana and the cultivation of the plant to be used for personal purposes would be prohibited.
Doctors could specify how much cannabis a patient can purchase within a 14-day period, or recommend a default standard, such as 1,600 milligrams THC in edibles, 8,200 for oils used for vaporization, and 4,000 for topical products like lotions.
The maximum amount of THC allowed in edibles is 10 milligrams per serving.
Labeling and packaging requirements would be required to warn consumers about potential health risks. Packaging of products could not be designed to appeal to children.
Patients who work in positions related to public safety, commercial transport or commercial machinery would not be able to use medical marijuana nor receive a cannabis cards. This would include, for instance, law enforcement, commercial drivers and pilots.
Local governments could ban marijuana businesses in their areas or set policies on the number of cannabis business licenses and operating hours. DHEC will need to take measures to prevent an overconcentration of marijuana businesses in a particular area of the State.
Unless they recuse themselves, lawmakers and their immediate families could not have financial or work interests in the marijuana industry before July 2029.
DHEC will be required to publish annual reports on the Medical Cannabis Program, which include information about the number and types of patients who qualify, the products that they purchase, and how independent businesses serve patients compared with vertically integrated companies.
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A poll conducted last year revealed that a majority of South Carolina adults (76%) support the legalization of marijuana , both for medical and recreational purposes (56%) — a conclusion that U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace has pushed.
Davis, the South Carolina cannabis bill sponsor, said that the party’s position, especially in regard to medical marijuana, was “an intellectually laziness that doesn’t try to present the medical facts as they exist currently.”
Davis attempted to reform the medical cannabis law after it was rejected by the House of Representatives in 2022. But that too failed due to procedural reasons.
The DOJ seeks White House approval for the updated Marijuana pardon certificate form under Biden’s expanded Proclamation
Photo by Mike Latimer.
The post South Carolina Senates Fail To Reach Supermajority Vote For Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
