South Carolina lawmakers clash over THC edibles. Here’s what to know

South Carolina’s House sent a conflicting hemp bill back to the Senate that both bans THC edibles and restricts them to adults 21 and older. The move likely sends the debate to a conference committee, where lawmakers from both chambers will negotiate the future of the state’s growing hemp-derived THC industry.

FULL STORY: SC hemp ban back on table. Four options left for future of THC edibles

Here are key takeaways:

• Four options remain: Lawmakers can regulate the hemp industry, ban THC products, set an age limit of 21 and older or do nothing. Just limiting sales by age is unlikely, lawmakers say.
• A ban amendment passed: State Rep. John McCravy, R-Greenwood, introduced an amendment prohibiting consumables with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC. It passed 56-36 right before a lunch break.
• A federal ban looms too: The 0.4-milligram limit mirrors language from a federal plan to end the government shutdown. If Congress doesn’t change course, psychoactive THC products will be banned nationwide in November.
• The Senate passed its own plan in March: It allowed low-dose gummies and drinks, with higher-dose products sold only in liquor stores and lower-dose canned beverages sold behind counters at licensed retail stores.
• The industry is significant: Hemp drinks alone were a $1.1 billion industry in the U.S. in 2024, according to cannabis industry group Whitney Economics. Some hemp advocates want the bill killed entirely.
• Protecting minors is a key motivator: “When a 14-year-old is found passed out with THC gummies or flower, or whatever it’s gonna be, we’ll only have ourselves to blame for that,” state Sen. Michael Johnson, R-York, told reporters.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.