South Carolina Republican state Sen. Tom Davis declared that the Trump administration's move to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act triggered existing state law, making South Carolina "the 41st state that has a legally authorized medical marijuana program."
Two state statutes support the claim. The South Carolina Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Act of 1980 allows certain patients to obtain medical cannabis through means the health commissioner deems appropriate consistent with federal law; a separate provision requires officials to reschedule any federally rescheduled substance within 30 days. Gov. Henry McMaster's (R) office confirmed state law will "require the State to mirror the new federal order," and the Department of Public Health (DPH) said it is "aware of the proposed rescheduling" and "assessing the impacts."
Davis, who has sponsored medical cannabis bills that twice cleared the Senate but stalled in the House, told Charleston City Paper that DPH Director Dr. Edward Simmer is now obligated to act: "Dr. [Edward] Simmer, as the DPH director, is in charge — he 'shall' provide that marijuana to those patients."
"My position has always been that this is a potentially dangerous substance," Davis said. "We need to regulate it. We need to have physicians authorizing it. We need to have pharmacists dispensing it with proper labeling. And all that's missing now."
He warned patients could sue to compel DPH to act on its statutory duty.
His bill would allow access at "therapeutic cannabis pharmacies" licensed by the state Board of Pharmacy, requiring a physician's recommendation for qualifying conditions including terminal illnesses and chronic diseases where opioids are the standard of care. The 2024 Senate-passed version was never taken up by the House; a 2025 version also failed to advance. House Speaker Murrell Smith (R) cited insufficient GOP caucus support.
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), running in next month's Republican gubernatorial primary, opposes reform. "From day one, medicinal cannabis never ends up like that, [and] always ends up opening it up to everybody. I've got a problem with that. It's a gateway drug, and there other options other than marijuana for veterans or anybody who needs it for that matter," he said in an interview. He separately praised Trump's executive order on therapeutic psychedelics for veterans with PTSD.
A 2024 poll found 93 percent of South Carolina Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans, and 84 percent of independents support medical marijuana.
