|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
by WILL FOLKS
***
Earlier this year, U.S. Marine veteran and small business owner Jesse Turner – who is running for a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives this month – was indicted on drug trafficking charges by the statewide grand jury.
Turner claimed his business was a victim of the selective enforcement of South Carolina’s hemp laws – and that he was politically targeted ahead of this month’s partisan primary elections in the Palmetto State.
Turner paid a visit to our studio this week ahead of his upcoming race for S.C. House District 11 (.pdf) to discuss the charges filed against him.
“I absolutely think this is political, not from my opponent, but from the system itself,” he told us. “Essentially, they don’t want me in office, they don’t want somebody that’s going to make a difference, they want somebody in there that’s just going to rubber stamp everything, and that’s going to go along with the flow. I’m for change. I see the way things are going. We’re not (moving) in the right direction at all, on like on any statistic whatsoever.”
***
“They’re targeting me because I’m refusing to back down,” Turner continued, adding “we life in a de facto police state.”
According to Turner, he believes the Palmetto State needs to revisit its position on marijuana legalization.
“I think at the bare minimum it needs to be medically legal in the state,” he said. “Should it be recreationally legal? Also, yes – but I think that needs to go to the people and not decided by legislation.”
The status quo? Unacceptable…
“We’re mandating that a doctor prescribe addictive opioids that kill 80,000 people a year, but we won’t let them have a natural alternative?” he said. “That’s insane to me.”
The underlying drug case against Turner being investigated by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), while his prosecution – and the prosecution of his two co-defendants – is being led by Creighton Waters, chief of the statewide grand jury and the lead prosecutor on the famed ‘Murdaugh Murders’ case.
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we track this case through the Palmetto State’s court system….
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
***
SOUND OFF…
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
