SC 2025–26 Hemp-Regulation Bills — H.3924, H.3935, H.4758, H.4759

Last verified: May 2026

H.3924 (Rep. Wooten et al.) — Hemp-Derived Ingestible Regulation

House Bill 3924, principally sponsored by Rep. Wooten and a House bipartisan coalition, takes the regulate-not-ban approach. The original House-passed version (spring 2025):

• Imposes an age-21 limit on purchase of consumable hemp-derived products containing THC.
• Creates a retail license category for sellers of hemp-derived intoxicating products.
• Imposes packaging and labeling requirements: child-resistant packaging, no marketing aimed at children, ingredient and dosage disclosure, batch-level COA reference.
• Establishes per-serving and per-package dosage caps on edibles and beverages.
• Authorizes a state agency (in the original draft, DPH) to administer.

The House passed H.3924 in spring 2025. The Senate took it up in the 2026 portion of the session and substantially amended it, including: a ban on smokable hemp products (THCA flower, hemp pre-rolls); a ban on tinctures; restriction of 10-mg drinks to liquor stores only; a 5-mg-per-serving cap on gummies. The Senate version drew from the Senn-led 2024 hemp-restriction effort. On April 22, 2026, the House declined to accept the Senate version, leaving the bill in conference and effectively pending end-of-session resolution.

H.3935 (Rep. Gatch et al.) — Consumable Hemp Licensing and Regulation Act

House Bill 3935 takes a parallel regulate-not-ban approach but routes the licensing scheme through Title 39, Chapter 81 (commerce / trade rather than controlled substances). The bill creates a comprehensive licensing framework for consumable hemp products, including manufacturer / processor / retailer permit categories, age verification, packaging, and product testing. As of May 2026, H.3935 has not advanced beyond House committee.

H.4758 (Rep. Newton et al.) — Total Ban

House Bill 4758, sponsored by House Judiciary Chair Rep. Weston Newton (R-Bluffton), takes the opposite approach: a total ban on consumable hemp products containing THC. The bill would amend S.C. Code §§ 44-53-190 and 44-53-370 to treat any consumable hemp product containing THC as a Schedule I controlled substance, with possession, manufacture, distribution, and trafficking penalties matching marijuana. Newton has said publicly that he proposed both H.4758 (total ban) and H.4759 (companion on intoxicating beverages) "because a total ban may fail, leaving the intoxicating products available to children."

The Newton total-ban approach has the support of AG Wilson’s office, SLED Chief Mark Keel, the SC Sheriffs’ Association, the House Family Caucus (Rep. McCravy), and the Palmetto Family Council. See opposition coalition page.

H.4759 — Companion Intoxicating-Beverages Bill

House Bill 4759 is a companion to H.4758 that addresses intoxicating hemp beverages specifically. It would treat hemp-derived delta-9 THC beverages as controlled substances, effectively closing the SG Cook September 16, 2024 opinion’s safe-harbor for compliant beverages. The companion structure allows the General Assembly to pass H.4759 (closing the beverage channel) even if H.4758 (the broader total ban) fails politically. See Wilson-Cook conflict page.

The Senate-Side Hemp-Regulation Posture

The Senate has not moved a single comprehensive hemp-regulation vehicle as a Senate bill in 2025-26; instead, the Senate has worked through amendments to House-originated bills. The 2024 effort by Sen. Sandy Senn (R-Charleston) — numbered S.423 in that session, and confusingly sharing a number with Sen. Davis’s Compassionate Care Act — was a Senate-side hemp-restriction bill that did not pass. Sen. Senn’s framework substantially informed the Senate’s March 2026 amendment package to H.3924.

The Industry Position

The South Carolina Healthy Alternatives Association has lobbied for the regulate-not-ban path (H.3924 / H.3935) and against H.4758 / H.4759. Industry argument: hemp businesses employ thousands of South Carolinians; consumer demand is real and durable; a total ban will simply move the market to gray-market online retailers shipping in from out of state; the responsible path is age verification, packaging, dosing caps, and safety testing.

The Law-Enforcement Position

SLED Chief Mark Keel and AG Wilson have backed the total-ban approach (H.4758 / H.4759). Their position: regulated retail of intoxicating cannabinoids is medical-cannabis-by-another-name; products marketed in attractive packaging with bright-color edibles target children regardless of formal age limits; SLED’s 261-of-270 "hot" testing rate from Operation Ganjapreneur shows industry self-compliance is illusory; the federal November 12, 2026 cliff makes prospective regulation futile.

The Procedural Status as of May 2026

• H.3924 — House passed (spring 2025); Senate amended (March 2026); House declined Senate version April 22, 2026; in conference / unresolved as of May 5, 2026, three days from sine die.
• H.3935 — In House committee; no action.
• H.4758 — In House committee; no floor action.
• H.4759 — In House committee; no floor action.

Realistic outcome for the 2025-26 session: either a House-Senate conference compromise on H.3924 in the final days, or no action and the federal November 12, 2026 cliff takes effect with no SC framework in place. The political reality is that the General Assembly is divided three ways — regulate, total-ban, or do-nothing — and the most likely result is no action.

How a 2026 SC Hemp Statute Would Interact with the Federal Cliff

Even if SC enacts H.3924 or H.4758 by sine die, the federal PL 119-37 § 781 — effective November 12, 2026 — will:

• Cap THC in nationally sold consumer hemp products at 0.4 mg per package (vastly below the 5-10 mg per serving currently in market)
• Redefine hemp using a total THC threshold (including THCA) of 0.3%
• Ban synthetic / non-naturally-occurring cannabinoids (delta-8, HHC, THC-O)

An SC regulate-not-ban statute (H.3924) would still operate within the federal framework, just with state-level age, packaging, and licensing requirements layered on top of products that are already substantially restricted federally. An SC total-ban statute (H.4758) would simply move SC into closer alignment with the new federal framework. Either way, the contested policy space — double-digit-milligram THC seltzers, delta-8 carts, THCA flower — will be substantially gone by year-end 2026 regardless of SC action. See federal hemp cliff page.