Letter to the Spartanburg Legislative Delegation (Feb. 2024):

History of the “SC Compassionate Care Act”: 

Sen. Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) has been working tirelessly for almost ten years now to pass this legislation in our state. He has various colleagues in the Senate and House who are working with him. The new bills H.3486 and S.423 are very well written and changed to address all of the challenges from the last session, such as firearms ownership. The “SC Compassionate Care Act” of last session 2022 (S.150) did pass the Senate with the help of Sen. Josh Kimbrell amending the bill created by Sen. Davis, to provide for tighter regulation on the grow field sizes and the distribution of the substance THC, wherein only SC Pharmacists could distribute “medical cannabis” via a “Therapeutic Cannabis Pharmacy” instead of the term used in other legal states which is “Cannabis Dispensary” and Sen. Shane Martin’s amendment to prevent the interchangeability of vaping cartridges with nicotine cartridges. So, Sen. Kimbrell wants S.C. licensed pharmacists to distribute a federally-illegal substance (THC delta-9) using a vaping cartridge that Sen. Martin approves. You can’t even make this stuff up… oh, the mindlessness and hypocrisy.

            The “SC Compassionate Care Act” (H-3486 and S-0423) would incentivize and normalize a culture of marijuana usage in our State. This bill would allow for the establishment of up to 15 regulated state-run cannabis growing and distribution centers all across the state (by contrast, the state of Florida which has 2x the population of SC has 8 distribution centers). This bill would provide for any licensed MD, OD, PA, NP and possibly even Chiropractic physician (DO) in the state to be able to dispense up to 8,200mg of pure THC oil that can be vaporized “vaped” every two weeks to any “patient” that has any of the noted ailments which include MS, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, other forms of chronic pain, PTSD, GI disorders, depression & anxiety, And this does not include the 1,200mg of edibles and 4,000mg of various oils, transdermal patches, tinctures, etc. for THC that this bill would provide.

            .

Why should our legislators resist this legislation?

Each of the legislators in this delegation except one is a “Republican.” But the Republican Platform clearly states that it stands for life, morality, dignity of work, and seeks to discourage any behavior(s) which hinder these values upheld in the daily lives of our citizens. There are far too many testimonies of individuals who have been a part of the marijuana lifestyle and they are telling of the detrimental effects of this drug upon their lives as individuals, families and in their communities. We would do well to listen to these wise men and women and their stories. The agenda of the pro-marijuana/ cannabis lobby and its proponents is being deceitfully exploited by parents of disabled children (diagnosed with MS, epilepsy, glaucoma, etc.). It is the same as everything that is dark and destructive: they decry “it’s for the children...” and “we need this because it will finally stop the drug cartels’ trade...” and “this is healthcare.” Just as the same deceivers peddle human abortion as “women’s healthcare” they peddle marijuana as the blessing of God because it’s all natural and can now be state-regulated.

We must wake up now and call this what it truly is: a curse upon our land. There is no state or city which has implemented the legalization of cannabis that is not ridden with more drug cartels, more opioid/ narcotic use, more mental/ psychotic issues, more suicides, more violence, more welfare and joblessness, more homelessness, more litter and graffiti, more vehicular injuries and fatalities, more devaluing of human lives and more hopelessness. This is not a blessing. The GOP must say no this because we stand for LIFE, not death. So many of the Republicans loudly boast how they are the pro-Life “protectors of the unborn” (which is necessary) yet at the same time they push for this legislation that is pro-death. This should not be.

Our legislators must commit to truthful and factual information and no longer re-define what is “medicine”:

It seems like everything is being re-defined in our culture today: from marriage (gay) to women’s healthcare (abortion) to the biology of male and female (trans). Woke advocates are great at changing the meaning of words but Republicans cannot go along with this nonsense. Your constituents are looking for leadership that upholds what is truthful, factual and doesn’t cave to the demands of any popular fad no matter how many other states legalize this.

Marijuana “cannabis” is NOT a medicine. Its main compound THC (tetra-hydra-cannabinol, delta-9 isomer) is a powerful hallucinogenic substance that induces psychoses, anxiety, and has absolutely no peer-reviewed evidence of being medicinally therapeutic in any of the above maladies and ailments. No matter how many states have believed the lies of the Billion $$$ marijuana industry and its proponents such as the media, the Chambers of Commerce, many Veterans groups, Americans For Prosperity (AFP), and multiple agricultural / farming organizations, we in South Carolina must say no to this madness, even if we’re the last state to say no.

All of these groups love to decry loudly their mantra “it’s not justice that our citizens, our veterans, our patients don’t have medical cannabis to treat their diseases and PTSD.”  No, what is truly an injustice is that by one “Yea” vote each of you could normalize the use of an illegal destructive substance. Real medicine is supposed to heal not cause harm. The vast majority of users in legal states are >91% for diagnoses of PTSD and chronic pain, not any of the other maladies listed in the bill. There are a multitude of FDA approved medicines for each of these ailments listed here. Marijuana cannot and does not help the underlying causes of chronic pain, PTSD and depression.

If you really are hell bent on this legislation to legalize marijuana (cannabis) than do it for recreational (commercialized) consumption—don’t legalize this substance in the name of “medicine.” It is not medicine.

Listen to the Voices of the people who are warning you of the detrimental effects of this Legislation:

Marijuana is NOT medicine. Listen to the police and sheriffs’ organizations and their members. Listen to the scientific community who is constantly learning more of the dangers of this substance. Listen to the Church leaders who are saying this is insanity to propose legalizing marijuana. Listen to your own conscience. Listen to the people in our State who know this is not medicine but is terrible legislation that will continue to erode the moral fabric of our society.

We have enough vehicle accidents and fatalities on our roads and highways.

We have enough violence and madness on our streets in our cities and towns.

We have enough medicines already available (FDA-approved CBD/ THC-based meds: epidiolex, dronabinol and nabilone which can only be prescribed for cancer related nausea and one rare form of epilepsy.

We already have a medical marijuana bill legalized here in SC, it’s bill S-1035 (2014).

Read the latest Resolution affirming that Republican legislators should NOT be supportive of the legalization of marijuana as a “medicine.” Click here to read.