Politics
Hemp THC Products Will Stay Legal In South Carolina As Lawmakers Fail To Agree On Limits
“If the only thing that we can do is to prohibit sales to under 21, I would rather the pressure grow, and let’s see if we can address it more comprehensively later.”
By Jessica Holdman, South Carolina Daily Gazette
South Carolinians, including teens, can continue to buy hemp products infused with THC at grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants and vape shops across the state after legislators failed to reach a consensus on regulating the intoxicating gummies and drinks.
The effort to rein in what some called the “Wild Wild West” of these products, which can provide an alternative high in a state where marijuana remains illegal, failed Thursday after hemp industry proponents and those seeking an all-out ban collectively defeated it in the state House.
The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 27-11.
But then House members voted 69-28 to kill the bill that would have limited sales to adults over 21 and set rules on what products could be sold and by whom.
The issue divided Republicans. The 69 “no” votes included 28 Democrats and 41 Republicans. No Democrat voted for the restrictions.
Proposals on how to curb sales of drinks and edibles infused with hemp-derived THC—effectively legalized by the 2018 federal Farm Bill—have divided the GOP in both chambers over the past two legislative sessions.
Legislators have generally agreed they want to keep the products out of children’s hands. But they’ve been at odds over what should be legal for adults to buy.
The House passed legislation nearly unanimously last year that simply cut out sales of hemp-derived THC products to anyone under 21.
But for many legislators, that didn’t go far enough.
To try to reach a compromise, House and Senate negotiators removed penalties for people who drive under the influence of these products. Otherwise, a proposal worked out by a the panel largely followed the Senate-passed version of the bill.
What resulted was a bill restricting what’s legal to beverages and gummies with no more than 10 milligrams of THC per serving and limited the majority of sales to liquor stores only.
Other retailers had the option to apply for a license allowing them to sell 12-ounce beverages with up to 5 milligrams of THC.
However, the cans or bottles would have had to remain behind the counter.
The proposal barred restaurants from offering the products at all.
“My concern about doing something very minimalist is that once you do something on a problem it’s: well, that problem is solved, we have another fire to put out, and we don’t come back to it for 10 years,” Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey told reporters after the failed House vote. “And if the only thing that we can do is to prohibit sales to under 21, I would rather the pressure grow, and let’s see if we can address it more comprehensively later.”
The Edgefield Republican said he would have preferred a total ban but he knew, in the Senate, that wasn’t feasible either.
On the House said, one faction argued setting these limits would kill the industry and force the closure of mom-and-pop shops, handing the majority of their business over to “big liquor.”
“We’re actually taking that from the stores that are selling it now and we’re giving it to another industry, which is called the liquor industry. That, in my opinion, is a government overreach. I think that is a foul. I’m against that 100 percent,” said Rep. Greg Ford, one of the hemp industry’s leading supporters in the House.
On the House floor earlier this year, the Summerville Republican told his colleagues how his 24-year-old son uses hemp products with THC for relief from seizures. He credits the products with saving his son’s life.
“The reason why he turned 24 is because we found the hemp product,” Ford previously said.
And while the legislation would have allowed retailers to keep selling products with a lower infusion of THC, he said it subjected them to some of the same restrictions faced by those that sell beer and wine, such as not being within several hundred feet of a church, school or playground.
Ford said one man with 11 stores in the Charleston area would not have been able to operate 10 of them because his leased spaces would not have complied. Another owner he heard from in the Upstate told Ford all 29 of his stores would have to close.
In all, some 1,800 small businesses, employing 3,500 people, could have been impacted, Rep. Gil Gatch, R-Summerville said.
“What has made this state great is that the government respects business owners. It respects people that employ people, and this is total disrespect to an entire industry,” added Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia.
On the other end of the spectrum were those not willing to accept anything less than a total ban.
“By passing this bill, we’re about to legalize the most dangerous form of THC,” said Rep. John McCravy.
While technically not illegal, sellers of these products have been operating in a legal gray area and the Greenwood Republican said he wanted to put an end to it.
“Once we pass this, it will be a flood. We’re going to be the dumping ground for these drinks,” McCravy added. “We’re going have more and more people addicted to this stuff in South Carolina.”
House Judiciary Chairman Weston Newton, who sat on the special committee tasked with reaching a compromise, tried to remind House members that a failure to pass the bill would mean a wide array of THC-infused products will stay on shelves available for people of all ages to buy.
The Bluffton Republican read from a letter sent by Chief Mark Keel, head of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division: “Currently without regulation and dedicated resources, statewide enforcement of intoxicating THC products is virtually impossible. Posing a significant public safety risk, especially to our young people.”
“Not one person has gotten up today and said, ‘Children ought to be able to buy this in South Carolina.’ And yet, we have before us today, the way to stop that,” Newton added. “This debate is and should have been focused the entire time on public safety. I hope you all will join me in standing with the chief of SLED, with our sheriff’s association, and our police departments in South Carolina in supporting this bill.”
Ultimately, Newton’s plea was in vain and the size of the opposition made it clear no legislation was likely to pass this year.
That leaves the state waiting to see whether the federal government will allow rules reducing the allowable THC content in hemp products to go into effect in November.
This story was first published by South Carolina Daily Gazette.
