‘Cannabis Consumables’ Compromise Reached in South Carolina

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

by WILL FOLKS

***

A day after a compromise bill related to the regulation of so-called “cannabis consumables” in South Carolina imploded on the floor of the Palmetto State Senate, the GOP-controlled chamber managed to push a second compromise through.

By a 35–4 vote, senators advanced a heavily amended version of H. 3924 – a bill which overwhelmingly cleared the S.C. House of Representatives last year. This bill bears little resemblance to that one, though, and the arm-twisting involved in yielding such a lopsided margin left a bad taste in the mouths of many senators.

As we noted in our report earlier this week, South Carolina has struggled for past two years to regulate psychoactive cannabinoids present in food and drinks sold at retail establishments across the state (often with tragically unintended consequences). Since the passage of the 2018 farm bill at the federal level, a multitude of hemp-based products have been legal across the country – creating a booming industry that has resisted regulation and placed further strain on already struggling beer and liquor retailers.

The adult beverage industry has fought back, seeking to either ban the sale of these competing products altogether – or forcing them to be sold at liquor stores under the state’s current regulatory framework for intoxicating libations. Also, federal, state and local law enforcement have been engaged in escalating efforts to crack down on these cannabis consumables in the Palmetto State – seeking to accomplish by force what lawmakers have failed to accomplish by statute.

***

Earlier this week, Senate majority leader Shane Massey and his heir apparent, Michael Johnson, struck a deal with social conservatives to limit the potency of these products, confine their sale to liquor stores and restrict their availability to adults over the age of 21 years.

Social conservative hardliners voted to insert these restrictions into the initial compromise bill, but then voted against the legislation when it was time to cast the deciding tally. Democrats also bristled at the initial compromise (crafted without their input) because Republicans – who purport to be the party of limited government and individual liberty – were picking winners and losers in the marketplace and limiting the legal rights of adult consumers.

As a result, the first compromise went down in flames…

The bill that ultimately passed would permit beverages with five milligrams of hemp-derived Tetrahydrocannabinol (or THC, the principle psychoactive constituent of cannabis) to be sold in convenience and grocery stores – although these products would have to be stored behind the counter with nicotine products. Any hemp beverages above five milligrams – and any infused gummies – would only be able to be sold in liquor stores.

Stand-alone hemp stores would be permitted to continue operating under the second compromise – as long as they obtained a license that conformed to the requirements associated with operating a liquor store.

Restaurants would be banned from selling the drinks, though.

***

RELATED | ROM REDDY’S ROI

***

Democrats backed this second compromise because it would protect (to an extent) the stand-alone hemp stores.

“This debate is a good example of where I believe my party should go,” Democrat senator Ed Sutton of North Charleston told FITSNews following the vote. “We need to highlight that Republican leadership is trying to create a nanny state rather than allowing adults to make adults decisions.”

“We spend a lot of time talking about supporting Veterans with PTSD, creating opportunities for small businesses and respecting individual liberty, but when the rubber meets the road, its the Democrats who held firm on those values in the Senate while the Republicans said we’re comfortable taking rights away from adults,” Sutton added.

Why did social conservatives support the second compromise, though? After all, their goal from the beginning was to enact a total ban on these products – not create a regulatory framework for them.

Why would they vote in favor of legislation that would open the door to their legal sale?

According to our sources, Massey and Johnson negotiated with evangelical senators – led by Richard Cash of Piedmont – about putting controversial abortion legislation back on the Senate calendar. Cash’s push for a total abortion ban received several high-profile hearings last fall, but lawmakers refused to bring the issue to the floor of the Senate.

Could that dam break in the coming days?

Massey made a rare visit to X this week to rebuke the suggestion, saying FITSNews‘ reporting on these negotiations was “completely made up.”

Count on FITSNews to keep tabs on the status of the cannabis consumables’ bill as it heads back to the House of Representatives… and to follow any developments related to abortion legislation in the Senate.

***

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.

***

WANNA 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.