South Carolina may finally get a medical cannabis program thanks to a 1980 law and federal rescheduling

“The medicine that saves my life every day is illegal in South Carolina. I am asking my fellow South Carolinians, please support your veterans by asking your legislators to support compassionate legislation to bring this relief to everyone who needs it.”

— J., a female South Carolina veteran with PTSD and a severely painful kidney condition that medical cannabis has dramatically helped

The South Carolina General Assembly recessed on May 14, 2026, without having held a hearing on any cannabis legislation. In past years, the Senate has twice passed medical cannabis legislation, but both times it died in the House.

In a turn of events that buoy hopes for 2027, South Carolina has a medical cannabis law on the books, passed in 1980, that can finally be implemented now that the federal government has rescheduled state-legal medical cannabis. Under the South Carolina Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Act, the state is required to obtain the cannabis that patients use. The law applies only to certain patients with cancer and glaucoma, but regulators can expand qualifying conditions.  

State Sen. Tom Davis (R), who has sponsored bills to legalize medical cannabis for over a decade, told a local newspaper that the federal action kicks off “a chain of legal consequences in South Carolina that the General Assembly can no longer ignore.” Sen. Davis has also said that his legislation “provides exactly the model we need: physician authorization on the front end, licensed cultivation and processing in the middle, and pharmacist dispensing on the back end—a patient-centered framework that protects patients, ensures product safety, and provides the regulatory clarity that both the public and the healthcare community deserve.”

A detailed summary of Sen. Davis’s Compassionate Care Act — S.0053 in the 2025/26 legislative sessions — can be found here. It is expected he will reintroduce similar legislation in 2027. With the pressure created by federal rescheduling and the 1980 law, contacting your legislators is more important than ever!

Senator Tom Davis (R) has worked for years to refine medical cannabis legislation to address concerns of his colleagues and opponents. It took several years to get through the Senate. Let your legislators know voters want the House to give the carefully crafted legislation a vote, too.

And let us know if you are a patient who could benefit from medical cannabis, or a supportive medical professional, clergy member, veteran, or current or former member of law enforcement. Your voice is particularly powerful in this effort.

South Carolina continues to jail cannabis consumers

South Carolina is one of only 19 states that continues to jail individuals for possessing small amounts of marijuana.

Neighboring North Carolina passed a limited decriminalization law back in 1977. But in South Carolina, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports data shows 9,403 arrests for cannabis possession in 2025 alone. This is a rate of 203.61 per 100,000 residents, the highest arrest rate in the South.

H3110, sponsored by Rep. Chris Hart (D), would have stopped arresting and incarcerating people for possessing up to an ounce of cannabis and up to 10 grams of hashish. It would have changed the penalty from a misdemeanor to a fine-only civil penalty. Under existing law, a first offense carries up to 30 days in jail, in addition to a fine of $100-200. A subsequent offense carries up to a year in jail under current law, along with a fine of $200-1,000. Under H3110, the jail time and criminal record would have been removed and the fines would have been unchanged. This sensible bill was not granted a hearing in 2025 or 2026.

Let your lawmakers know it’s past time to stop incarcerating people for using cannabis.

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