Federal Government to Reclassify Marijuana
By Dennis Mitchell
A bill to allow the sale of medical marijuana in South Carolina failed again in the SC House this year. Opposition to the bill is strongest in the law enforcement communities, objected to by, among others, Chief Mark Keel of SLED and the S. C. Sheriff’s Association.
The federal government recently announced it would reclassify marijuana from its current status as a Class 1 substance to a Class 3 substance, putting it on the level of medical drugs such as cough syrup with codeine. This change by the federal government could give renewed push to legalizing medical marijuana in South Carolina.
The bill that failed in the General Assembly this year is reported to be one of the strictest on the uses of marijuana for medical purposes. Smoking of the product, for example, would not be allowed. However, providing relief through topical use and liquid dosages could go a long way toward bringing relief to cancer patients, those suffering from multiple sclerosis and veterans suffering from PTSD due to battlefield related conditions. It is already being used in the thirty-four states which have approved medical marijuana for these and other medical conditions.
Medical marijuana bills which have failed in the SC House have already passed the SC Senate several times. Recent nationwide polls have found 70% of the U. S. population supports allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
What has been proposed in the General Assembly for medical usage of marijuana does not include casual use of the substance. It is merely confined to medical usage, prescribed by doctors and dispensed through approved pharmacies, for severe medical conditions. Maybe next year the General Assembly will get onboard helping the many citizens who could benefit from medical marijuana to improve their daily lives.