South Carolina Democrats will have a chance to tell the state government how they feel about medicinal marijuana come June, when a nonbinding referendum addressing the issue will appear on their primary ballot.
House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford took to the State House lobby Wednesday to promote his bill, the “Put Patients First Act,” which would allow those permitted to use medical marijuana to have six plants or 2 ounces. It would be subject to sales tax.
“It’s not a Democrat or Republican issue. It shouldn’t even be a political issue,” Rutherford said. “It’s about helping people.”
Rutherford said the referendum will give voters a chance to say that doctors know better than politicians when it comes to prescribing marijuana.
In 1982, a bill regarding medicinal marijuana was passed in South Carolina, but it was not specific about acquiring it, nor did it legalize the drug. Rutherford said his bill aims to clarify that legislation.
Last week, the state House of Representatives passed a bill that will allow severe epilepsy patients to use cannabis oil, but epilepsy is just one of several medical conditions that medicinal marijuana is used to treat, Rutherford said.
“While this may be the first year we are talking about medical marijuana in South Carolina, we are lagging behind the rest of the nation,” Rutherford said.
Several people from around South Carolina came to the State House to share their medical marijuana stories. A former police officer, an aunt worried about her epileptic niece and a woman who suffered from daily seizures were among those who spoke.
Steva Kiser, of Gaffney, shared her grandson Ezra’s struggle with epilepsy, telling the crowd that medical marijuana greatly decreased his seizures and helped to heal his brain.
But for Ezra, the best part was there were no side effects.
“When I prayed for a miracle, folks, never did I think God would answer my prayer with marijuana,” Kiser said. “But I tell you: The answer is marijuana.”
Rutherford admitted that the bill might not pass this year; rather, he said the legislation is the beginning of a process and that the issue will not disappear at the end of the year.
“This is something that South Carolina desperately needs,” Rutherford said. “We don’t need granddaughters laying in their beds asking for miracles while we stand in the way.”