SC Cannabis Official Sources

Last verified: May 2026

South Carolina State Agencies

SC Department of Public Health (DPH)

• Website: dph.sc.gov.
• Status: formerly the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC); restructured in 2025 into separate DPH (public health) and Department of Environmental Services (DES). Cannabis-related responsibilities sit with DPH.
• Cannabis-related responsibilities: would administer any future Compassionate Care Act medical program; current limited Julian’s Law CBD-only registry administration.

SC Department of Agriculture (SCDA)

• Website: agriculture.sc.gov/hemp.
• Phone: (803) 734-8339.
• Hemp Program Coordinator: William R. Attaway, wattaway@scda.sc.gov.
• Cannabis-related responsibilities: SC industrial hemp program under USDA-approved state plan; cultivation + processing licensing; sample testing; regulatory compliance.

SC Law Enforcement Division (SLED)

• Website: sled.sc.gov.
• Cannabis-related responsibilities: cannabis-related investigations; AG Wilson’s Operation Ganjapreneur enforcement coordination; SLED forensics laboratory drug-testing; civil-asset-forfeiture coordination; major drug-trafficking investigations.

SC Attorney General’s Office

• Attorney General: Alan Wilson (R, in office since January 2011).
• Website: scag.gov.
• Cannabis-related responsibilities: cannabis-statute interpretation guidance; Operation Ganjapreneur hemp-derived intoxicant enforcement campaign (since approximately 2024); coordination with SLED and county law enforcement.

SC Board of Pharmacy

• Website: llr.sc.gov/bop.
• Cannabis-related responsibilities: dispensing regulation if Compassionate Care Act passes; current pharmacy-license oversight.

SC General Assembly

• Website: scstatehouse.gov.
• Senate: composition shapes Davis Compassionate Care Act prospects.
• House: Speaker Murrell Smith’s gatekeeping has produced "House 3M death" of medical-cannabis bills.
• Bill tracking: scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php.

Statutory Framework

S.C. Code Title 44 Chapter 53 — Controlled Substances

• § 44-53-370: possession, manufacture, distribution offenses; the PWID prima facie threshold (over 1 oz = PWID felony).
• § 44-53-375: trafficking thresholds; 100-2,000 lbs = 25-year mandatory minimum.
• § 44-53-391: paraphernalia (civil violation, $500 max civil fine).
• §§ 44-53-1810 to 44-53-1830: Julian’s Law CBD-only carve-out for severe-epilepsy patients.

S.C. Code Title 46 Chapter 55 — Industrial Hemp

South Carolina Industrial Hemp Farming Act framework conformed to 2018 federal Farm Bill. SCDA administers licensing.

S.C. Code Title 56 Chapter 5 — Motor Vehicles

• § 56-5-2930: DUI; impairment-based; no per se THC limit.
• § 56-5-2950: implied consent.

S.C. Code Title 12 Chapter 21 — Drug Tax Stamp

Tax-stamp framework parallel to controlled-substance prosecution.

Constitutional Provisions

• S.C. Const. art. XVI: ballot-initiative process. South Carolina has NO citizen ballot initiative — constitutional amendments must be referred by the General Assembly via two-thirds House and Senate vote. Statutory ballot initiatives also require legislative referral.

Federal Sources

• 21 U.S.C. § 841: federal manufacture, distribution, possession with intent.
• 21 U.S.C. § 844: federal simple possession.
• 2018 Farm Bill (P.L. 115-334): hemp definition (≤0.3% delta-9 THC dry weight).
• April 28, 2026 DOJ Schedule III rescheduling: 91 Fed. Reg. 22714.
• PL 119-37 § 781: federal hemp 0.4 mg/package cap effective November 12, 2026.

Federal Agencies

• DEA Atlanta Field Division oversees South Carolina.
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Carolina: Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville divisions.
• USDA Agricultural Marketing Service: approves state hemp plans.
• FDA: regulates CBD product labeling.

Federal Installations

• Fort Jackson (Columbia): U.S. Army basic combat training; ~50,000 trainees per year.
• MCRD Parris Island (Beaufort): U.S. Marine Corps recruit training.
• Naval Base Charleston: SPAWAR (now NAVWAR) operations; nuclear power training.
• Shaw AFB (Sumter): 20th Fighter Wing F-16C/D operations.
• Joint Base Charleston: 437th + 315th Airlift Wings (Air Force / Navy joint base).

Related on this site: SC Cannabis Advocacy, Send a Message, Contact CannabisSouthCarolina.org.