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If the Department of Justice finishes the process of rescheduling marijuana as recently directed by President Donald Trump, the federal change could boost efforts to legalize medical cannabis at the state level in South Carolina, according to a GOP lawmaker.
“I do think that there is going to be a change in mentality among some of those who have opposed this in the past,” Sen. Tom Davis (R) said in an interview with WSAV-TV that was published on Thursday.
“We’ve always had some legislators that were still concerned by the fact that it was characterized by the federal government as a Schedule I drug. Along with heroin and things of that nature, as a drug for which there is no medicinal use whatsoever,” he said. “I mean, that’s clearly not the case. That’s clearly false. Even the American Medical Association recognizes that now.”
Davis for years has sponsored legislation to legalize medical marijuana in South Carolina that has in some sessions passed the Senate but continually stalled in the House of Representatives.
The Republican lawmaker said he would be willing to include a provision in his legislation this session to make it so it wouldn’t take effect until federal rescheduling is completed.
“Doctors want to authorize patients who want to use cannabis for certain conditions,” Davis said. “They don’t want to use opioids, they don’t want to use drugs that have that much greater side effects and much greater health risks.”
The senator described his legislation as “extremely conservative.”
“It requires a doctor to diagnose and a doctor to authorize the use of the cannabis,” he said. “Very strict controls in regard to how the manufacturer of a marijuana medicine is done, the labeling requirements so that people know what they’re getting, and a requirement that it be dispensed to patients by pharmacists.”
“We’ve got a very good state mechanism set up where doctors diagnose, doctors authorize the use. Certain medical conditions have to be documented, and pharmacies have to dispense it. We’ve got a very detailed system of tracking the cannabis as it goes through the manufacturing process, a very good system in place.”
Davis believes his legislation provides a model for other states to follow.
“I’m about empowering doctors, empowering patients in a way that is respectful of public safety, mindful of public safety, proper labeling,” he said. “Something that South Carolina can be proud of, and that other states that want to legalize it solely for medical use can look at this law as a template.”
Gov. Henry McMaster (R) said last year that there’s a “compelling” case to be made for legalizing medical marijuana in South Carolina, despite the fact that “law enforcement, almost end-to-end, still have grave concerns.”
Davis’s pending bill for the 2025-2o26 session, as introduced, would allow patients to access medical marijuana from “therapeutic cannabis pharmacies,” which would be licensed by the state Board of Pharmacy. Individuals would need to receive a doctor’s recommendation for the treatment of certain qualifying conditions, which include several specific ailments as well as terminal illnesses and chronic diseases where opioids are the standard of care.
Among the public, medical marijuana legalization enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support in the state, with a poll last year finding that 93 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of independents back the reform.
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Certain lawmakers have raised concerns that medical cannabis legalization would lead to broader reform to allow adult-use marijuana, that it could put pharmacists with roles in dispensing cannabis in jeopardy and that federal law could preempt the state’s program, among other worries.
After Davis’s Senate-passed medical cannabis bill was blocked in the House in 2022, he tried another avenue for the reform proposal, but that similarly failed on procedural grounds.
The lawmaker has called the stance of his own party, particularly as it concerns medical marijuana, “an intellectually lazy position that doesn’t even try to present medical facts as they currently exist.”
Tom Angell is the editor of Marijuana Moment. A 25-year veteran in the cannabis and drug law reform movement, he covers the policy and politics of marijuana, psychedelics and other substances. He previously reported for Forbes, Marijuana.com and MassRoots, and was given the Hunter S. Thompson Media Award by NORML and has been named Journalist of the Year by Americans for Safe Access. As an activist, Tom founded the nonprofit Marijuana Majority and handled media relations, campaigns and lobbying for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
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