South Carolina Compassionate Care Act — The Perpetual Stall (S.53, 2025–26)

Last verified: May 2026

The Twelve-Year Arc

Tom Davis, a Republican attorney from Beaufort who chairs the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry (LCI) Committee, has been the principal sponsor of medical-cannabis legislation in the South Carolina Senate since 2014. Davis has methodically reworked the bill across sessions to address objections from law enforcement, including by removing smokable flower, banning home cultivation, requiring pharmacist dispensing, and (in the 2024 redraft) eliminating tax language that triggered the 2022 origination-clause challenge. See Tom Davis campaign page.

2022 — The First Chamber Passage and the Origination-Clause Kill

On February 9–10, 2022, the Senate passed S.150 by 28–15. It was the first time either chamber of the South Carolina General Assembly had passed a medical-cannabis bill. The bill went to the House, where on May 4, 2022, Rep. John McCravy III (R-Greenwood) raised a Rule 5.12 origination-clause challenge: because the bill established fees, McCravy argued, it raised revenue and therefore had to originate in the House under Article III § 15 of the South Carolina Constitution. Speaker Pro Tem Tommy Pope sustained the challenge, and the bill died without a floor vote. See 2022 origination clause page.

2024 — The House 3M Death

In 2024, after Davis stripped the offending tax language to avoid origination-clause exposure, S.423 again passed the Senate. The Senate vote on third reading was 24–19 on February 14, 2024 (with the second-reading vote 26–17 on February 13). The bill was referred February 27, 2024 to the House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee (3M Committee), then chaired by Rep. Sylleste Davis (R-Moncks Corner, District 100) — no relation to Sen. Davis. An ad-hoc subcommittee held one hearing on April 30, 2024, took testimony for several hours, and let the bill die when session adjourned. See 2024 House 3M death page.

2025–26: S.53

Sen. Davis introduced S.53 (companion measure S.0053) on January 14, 2025. As of May 5, 2026 — three days before the May 8, 2026 sine die adjournment — the bill remains stuck in the Senate Medical Affairs Committee (Chair: Sen. Daniel Verdin III, R-Laurens) and has not received a 2026 hearing in either chamber. Sen. Davis has said publicly that 2026 "will be the year" and that he "now has the votes" in the House, but the bill has not been scheduled. Realistically, medical cannabis in South Carolina will not be enacted before 2027 at the earliest, and only if both chambers’ political composition or House leadership shifts.

Senate Co-Sponsors of S.53

Senate sponsors of S.53 (2025–26): Sens. Tom Davis (R-Beaufort), Stephen Goldfinch (R-Murrells Inlet), and Russell Sutton (R-Williamsburg). Past co-sponsors of earlier versions included Sens. Brad Hutto (D-Orangeburg), Larry Grooms (R-Bonneau), Marlon Kimpson (D-Charleston), Gerald Malloy (D-Hartsville), Mia McLeod (D-Columbia), Tom Corbin (R-Travelers Rest), Daniel Verdin III (R-Laurens), Mike Fanning (D-Great Falls), Penry Gustafson (R-Camden), Katrina Shealy (R-Lexington), and Sandy Senn (R-Charleston). Former Sen. Glenn Reese (D-Boiling Springs) retired in 2020.

The Opposition Coalition

The bill’s principal organized opponents are:

• South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association (SCSA) — Executive Director Jarrod Bruder. Testifying April 4, 2022: "You are being asked to legislatively approve medicine. From the beginning of this debate, law enforcement has consistently said if marijuana is medicine, it should be regulated like every other medicine."
• South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) — SLED Chief Mark Keel, a 50-year veteran. April 2024: "This bill does not follow that tradition of the medical model, which is why, in my opinion, it is not about medicine. This bill is about legalizing marijuana in South Carolina." March 2026 (tied to Operation Ganjapreneur): "I will not sit idly by while a well-funded cannabis industry invades South Carolina."
• South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA) — Has historically opposed broader versions; current posture on the narrowly drafted S.53 has been mixed.
• House Family Caucus — Rep. John McCravy III (R-Greenwood). Issued the caucus’s first-ever caucus-wide condemnation of a bill in opposition to S.53.
• Palmetto Family Council — allied evangelical organization.

See opposition coalition page.

The Senate–House Asymmetry

The structural problem for medical cannabis in SC is the asymmetry between chambers: the 46-member Senate has been narrowly willing twice to pass a heavily restricted medical-cannabis program; the 124-member House — where district-by-district races are more responsive to social-conservative caucuses and law-enforcement endorsements — has not. House Speaker Murrell Smith (R-Sumter), who became Speaker in 2022, has consistently signaled that the bill lacks Republican-caucus support. The House 3M Committee under Chair Rep. Sylleste Davis remains the procedural gatekeeper. See Senate-House asymmetry page.

Gov. McMaster’s Posture

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster has not committed to vetoing the bill and has at times signaled openness. June 2025: "They have it was a very compelling situation. On the other hand, law enforcement almost took into and are still have grave concerns. I think what we need to do is study it very carefully, get as much information as we can, and try to do the right thing." Sen. Davis has publicly stated that McMaster would sign the Compassionate Care Act if it reached his desk. McMaster is term-limited; the 2026 SC gubernatorial election is open. See McMaster + 2026 race page.

What S.53 Would Do

The bill would create what Sen. Davis describes as "the most conservative medical cannabis program in the country" — specific qualifying conditions; no smokable flower; no home cultivation; pharmacist consultation requirement; ~65–75 dispensaries statewide capped at 3 per county; 15 cultivation centers (2-acre cap each); 30 processors; 5 testing labs; 4 transporters. See what S.53 would do page.