Our purpose:

KeepSC.org exists to serve the people of South Carolina by providing relevant and timely information, including quality research, data, facts, news and testimonials about the harms of marijuana and its potential legalization as a “medicine” here.

All recent polls show that > 50% of the people in S.C. think that legalization of marijuana as a “medicine” is okay. According to recent Gallup polls, greater than 70% of people believe in legalization of marijuana. Our hope is that these resources will help to change the narrative that the marijuana industry has been pushing for decades. We should be concerned about the mantra “oh don’t worry about what happens… it isn’t a big deal.” Well it is a big deal because our way of life is at stake here.

Nobody is going to suffer or die if marijuana is not legalized as “medicine” however we will all pay a hefty price if we follow through with this mistake as so many other states have done. Actually we already have legalized marijuana in this state signed into law in June 2014, it’s called Julian’s Law (S.1035).

Marijuana is NOT a medicine and our elected officials must do what is right for the citizens of this great state. Re-defining a psychoactive, addictive and anxiety-driving substance is not what they were elected to do. What they should be doing is closing the “Delta-8 THC” loophole that allows marijuana-light to continue to be sold in gas stations and vape shops all over our state. This legal form of marijuana has been chemically altered by the marijuana industry to be almost as potent as the “illegal” Delta-9 THC. But that’s what the marijuana industry does.

We are not asking for your money or donations but we are asking for your help in this endeavor. Please read all of the links about the issues of legalizing marijuana, make a clear decision with clear conviction and then follow through with the action plan to contact your legislators. Let others know about this website and reach out to us, even if you still are on the fence about this issue. We will contact you and provide some medium for respectful discourse.

Thank you.

Who, What, Where, When and How:

The history of marijuana as a “medicine” in South Carolina, in a nutshell:

On June 12, 2014, then Gov. Nikki Haley signed the piece of legislation known as the Medical Cannabis Therapeutic Treatment Research Act (S-1035). This act was created to legalize the use of cannabidiol (CBD) which contains < .90% active THC (psychoactive substance in marijuana), for the purpose of treatment of epilepsy (the FDA had just cleared the use of CBD in trials for epilepsy in Julian’s Law). However the S-1035 act also began the development of full medical marijuana legalization for other types of ailments. At the time the bill allowed for the usage of marijuana in any form including smoking.

In the next legislative session of 2015, the “SC Compassionate Care Act” was written by state Senators Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) and Danny Verdin (R-Laurens) and introduced in the senate. These architects of the bill worked tirelessly to get co-sponsors in the senate and the house which they did. However the bill was still allowing marijuana to be smoked as some other states were already legalizing.

This couldn’t pass in S.C. so subsequent versions of the '“Compassionate Care Act” would come along which confined the usage of marijuana to vaping and edibles, etc. instead of smoking. These bills almost were passed however there has always been a few good legislators who also worked tirelessly to resist this legalization effort, knowing what the after effects would bring to our state. At this point of time there are a majority of Democrats in both chambers of the S.C. general assembly as well as quite a few Republicans that are in support of this.

The polls on this among people in the state show that > 50% of respondents are also in support of “medical” marijuana being legalized. However, we believe that if these same people really were aware of what the “Compassionate Care Act” actually allows, they would not be in support of this legislation. And this is the reason we are here: to provide the public, legislators and everyone we can with the facts and true research findings that prove that marijuana is not a “medicine” and that this legislation is only a trojan horse for the full-scale implementation of recreational (commercial) marijuana legalization.

The statistics in all states that have implemented “medical marijuana” show that they start out with significant numbers of registered patients and then when the state legalizes marijuana for recreational use, the “medical” registrations drop to about one out of three. See the statistics from Arizona at this link. And the vast majority of users ( >90% of patients among all states) are using medical marijuana for “chronic pain” which is a highly subjective diagnosis and the vast majority of these “patients” fall into the age category of 18-35, which should be the most healthy age group.

Which S.C. senators voted to legalize marijuana as a “medicine” last session?

They previously voted for the

“S.C. Compassionate Care Act”

(S-243) in Feb. 2024

A RESOLUTION AFFIRMING THAT REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS SHOULD NOT BE ADVOCATING FOR THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA AS A “MEDICINE”:

WHEREAS the South Carolina legislature has, during every session for the past ten years, considered voting for the misnamed “SC Compassionate Care Act” that would legalize marijuana (“cannabis”) for Healthcare dispensation, via state-regulated dispensaries; and

  

WHEREAS the GOP / Republican Party stands for LIFE according to the party platform, we need not vote in favor of something that would cause untold harm and detriment to our state via advocating for hallucinogenic drug use; and

 

WHEREAS the statistics clearly show that legalizing “medical” marijuana actually lays the foundation for the marijuana lobby to normalize use of marijuana as a recreational drug; and

 

WHEREAS the arguments put forth by the multi-billion $ marijuana industry stating that marijuana actually reduces the use of opioids / narcotics is completely debunked and false; and

 

WHEREAS the arguments put forth by the multi-billion $ marijuana industry stating that marijuana will curtail the number of suicides among veterans due to PTSD and depression is completely debunked and false; and

 

WHEREAS marijuana use has been linked to increases in vehicular accidents and fatalities, homelessness and multiple other criminal behaviors; and

 

WHEREAS medicinal marijuana/ cannabis has already been legalized in 38 states and many of these (14 presently) have now enacted legalization (or decriminalization) of recreational use of marijuana which is the main goal of the billion $ marijuana lobby and industry); and

WHEREAS the S.C. Republican Party Platform clearly states that Republicans “must oppose the legalization of any controlled substance";

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Spartanburg County Republican Party calls on the S.C. General Assembly to stand for LIFE in all forms and to courageously resist the impending efforts to legalize and normalize marijuana in our State.