South Carolina’s Republican legislators have pre-filed a reform that’ll legalize cannabis within the state, citing that patients have been waiting for too long to access the drug legally.
The House of Representative’s Bill Herbkersman, who’s sponsoring the legislation, said that it’s unacceptable that South Carolina residents with the severe illness have to illegally access MJ to alleviate their condition. Bill added that cannabis helped his brother treat cancer-related symptoms.
He asserted that his sibling deserved better. His family, neighbours and friends deserve a similar treatment that’s affordable to U.S. citizens in the remaining thirty-six states. The Republican lawmaker went on to say that waiting longer will only increase the suffering of folks with devastating maladies.
On Wednesday, legislators filed two proposals of the South Carolina Compassionate Care Act. Bill’s H.3361 is the House proposal while Senator Davis Tom is championing S.150 in the other chamber of the legislatures. These measures may be absorbed during 2021’s session, which commences in mid-January.
On Thursday, Tom stated that he’s incredibly optimistic that they’ll get something approved in the 2021 session. He added that the bill has been thoroughly reviewed after a five-year input and testimony by several stakeholders. It’s time for the legislators to clear the way and permit patients, who’ve consulted a -physician, to safely and legally access medical MJ.
Unlike other states that have legalized medicinal cannabis, South Carolina lacks a resident-led Cannabis reform process. However, last month Davis tweeted that if he fails in getting legislators to accent the reform, he’ll motivate them to at least put the matter on a ballot via the legislature-referred referendum.
He said that he’s working to present the question to South Carolinians.
Although the two legislation’s versions tabled this week are different, both will authorize medicinal cannabis for patients with severe conditions. They will also create a distribution model and prohibit patients from home cannabis cultivation.
