SC Lawmakers push to legalize medical marijuana

COLUMBIA,SC (WOLO)-Lawmakers want to legalize marijuana in the Palmetto state by reintroducing what would be the Compassionate Care Act.

The bill introduced Tuesday, would legalize cannabis to help people with conditions like cancer, PTSD, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, glaucoma, Chron’s Disease, sickle cell anemia, ulcerative colitis, wasting syndrome, persistent nausea, people undergoing end-of-life hospice care and more.

Lawmakers have added strict regulations this time around.

Some medical professionals, like Doctor Steve Merlin support the bill.

“I don’t think I should have a cop or lawyer interfering with my discussion with my patient,” Merlin said. “These are not for just random conditions, these are for people who are really suffering.”

The bill won’t allow just anyone to get a medical marijuana card. It’ll have to be suggested by a doctor who has training on cannabis. The patient would then have to go to DHEC to get approved.

“It is, I am confident to say, the most strictly regulated, socially conservative medical cannabis bill in the United States,” Senator Tom Davis said.

Some lawmakers behind the proposed bill have a personal connection. State Rep. Peter McCoy’s daughter has epileptic seizures.

“I’ve held the hand of an infant who was having seizures and there was nothing I could do, and it was the most helpless feeling that I’ve ever experienced in my life,” McCoy said. “I hope many of you never have to feel that.”

Lawmakers in both parties are confident that the Compassionate Care Act will pass.

“This is a South Carolina issue,” McCoy said. “It’s time to put people first, patients first.”