‘We deserve the medical freedom.’ SC House panel debates legalizing medical marijuana
Karen St. Marie’s son, Erick, suffers from epilepsy. He has tried 13 medications and participated in two clinical trials to help his condition.
Erick eventually had surgery to address his seizures, but he “still does not have complete control” over his body, St. Marie told South Carolina lawmakers Monday.
The Goose Creek resident, who started the group South Carolina Advocates for Epilepsy, is now hoping lawmakers pass legislation this year that would legalize medical marijuana in the state — a drug she says will help her son.
“Erick has a huge team of doctors, and everyone of them has said if this is passed he will be one of the very first patients they would prescribe this to,” St. Marie said.
The full House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee listened to testimony Monday from proponents and opponents of the Senate-passed medical marijuana legislation, S. 150, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort. An additional hearing in front of the House’s only committee with a Democratic majority and a Democratic chairman is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
The Senate passed the legislation in February. If it becomes law, South Carolina would become the 38th state to allow the cultivation, sale and use of marijuana for people with certain debilitating diseases and symptoms.
Under the bill, South Carolinians with certain conditions, such as cancer, epilepsy or terminal illnesses, could be prescribed certain forms — oils, vaporizers, salves, lotions and creams and patches — and amounts of marijuana if authorized by a doctor. The marijuana would be available only at specific pharmacies.
More than a dozen people testified at the hourslong hearing Monday, including veterans who said marijuana provided therapeutic benefits to pastors who claimed marijuana is addictive and would lead to other illegal drug use.
Mike Hamlet, a Spartanburg-area pastor, warned lawmakers of the path they could create by legalizing marijuana for medical marijuana use.
“Every state with recreational marijuana always begins with medical marijuana,” Hamlet said. “We need to make sure we don’t open the door for this for our state.”
State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Richland, did not buy that argument, saying that marijuana would be grown in a controlled environment and wouldn’t be laced with harmful strains.
“We’re hearing a lot of arguments against recreational uses, but we’re not talking about recreational uses. We’re talking about medical use,” Johnson said. “The medicinal strains would be safer than the things we find on the street.”
Gary Hess, the 44-year-old founder and executive director of Louisiana-based Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives, said he had to resort to buying marijuana illegally to deal with post traumatic stress, pain and a traumatic brain injury he suffered while serving in the Iraq War.
Hess said he had pharmaceutical drugs prescribed to him by the Department of Veterans Affairs to help ease the pain, but marijuana did more to improve his mood and appetite.
“Here’s the sad truth, is that if I continue to rely on the VA in the western model of medicine, I would not be standing here in front of you today,” Hess said. “The truth is that the medical efficacy of this plant cannot be denied. Yet here, in South Carolina, veterans returning to their communities after service are being forced to become criminals placing themselves, their families and their children at risk to access this medicine.”
“We deserve the medical freedom to access this plant under the guidance of a physician and a licensed pharmacist,” Hess added.
But state Rep. Vic Dabney, R-Kershaw, said Monday he’s fearful that legalizing certain forms of marijuana will lead to unemployment and higher crime.
Dabney, a veteran, said he had pain issues and deals with a hand that shakes. He was prescribed pain medication, but said he stopped after several days because of its effects.
“I just want to go on record in saying that some things you just have to live with,” Dabney said, “and some things you just have to deal with, like a shaking hand.”
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 3:43 PM.
