South Carolina Lawmakers Fail in Bid to Restrict Hemp Cannabinoid Sales

Lawmakers in Charleston ended a special session Saturday without approving a bill that would have regulated and heavily restricted hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoid products, House Bill 3924. That means retailers can continue selling such products without age limits or dosage caps. 

 

As originally passed by the House, the bill would have banned most hemp-derived cannabinoids, but then went to conference committee to hammer out differences with a similar bill passed in the Senate. The final compromise version of the bill would have limited THC content and barred sales except at licensed liquor outlets. It would also have set a statewide age limit of 21, banned synthetic THC, capped milligram limits in hemp-derived cannabinoid products, and required lab testing and labeling. 

A six-member conference committee reached a unanimous agreement last week to adopt the Senate’s version of the bill. The Senate approved that, but the House voted last Thursday against the compromise by an overwhelming margin of 69-28. This effectively kills the bill and leaves the state without any hemp regulations passed this session. 

Some law enforcement agencies, including the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and family advocacy groups lobbied for the compromise bill, arguing that regulation was necessary to protect children. In a letter to lawmakers last Thursday, SLED Chief Mark Keel urged them to pass the bill, saying statewide enforcement on THC products would be impossible without it.

But farmers, small business owners, and CBD retailers opposed the new regulations, saying they feared a restrictive regime would kill their livelihoods and provide a boon to liquor stores.  

Before the final House vote, Zach Serrins, executive director of the SC Healthy Alternatives Association, warned lawmakers the bill could cause a serious economic hit for the state. 

"We’re taking essentially what today is a 600-or-700-million-dollar market in the state of South Carolina and cutting it down to 10 percent of that and handing it over to liquor stores, and that is not the best interest of anyone in South Carolina," Serrins said. 

While lawmakers acknowledged that the potential economic impact played a role in their consideration, they also cited the looming federal ban on hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids as a reason to maintain the Wild West status quo for now.