South Carolinians Deserve Medical Cannabis
At the South Carolina Compassionate Care Alliance, we work diligently to produce informational resources that highlight the medicinal qualities of the cannabis plant. Medical Marijuana is demonstrated to treat a variety of conditions including chronic pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, multiple sclerosis spasticity symptoms, and PTSD symptoms.
Since the passage of a bill in 2014 that allowed for possession of cannabidiol oil for patients with severe forms of epilepsy, advocates for medical cannabis have been fighting for a comprehensive program that would include more conditions and in-state cultivation and distribution. Currently, 35 states, plus the District of Columbia, have passed laws allowing cannabis as a treatment for varying qualifying conditions.
Meanwhile, in South Carolina, a bill that would have created a similar program was introduced by Tom Davis, a Republican Senator from Beaufort, in 2015 but was shot down in Senate Committee in 2016. During this time, individual patients and parents with chronically ill children met with legislators. However, that did not have the impact needed to get such a controversial piece of legislation passed. Small advocacy groups were also formed, but again, they had little influence.
From these struggles, the South Carolina Compassionate Care Alliance was born. These parent/patient advocates stepped forward to form a state-wide advocacy organization that will combine grassroots efforts with industry leaders, policymakers, attorneys, medical professionals, and other advisers who are passionate about seeing legal access to medical cannabis for South Carolina patients become a reality.
