South Carolina Senate Advances Compromise Bill Regulating Hemp THC Drinks and Gummies
- South Carolina’s Senate approved a rewritten House Bill 3924 allowing hemp beverages with up to 5 mg of THC to be sold in convenience and grocery stores, but only if kept behind the counter with nicotine products.
- Hemp beverages containing more than 5 mg of THC and infused gummies would be restricted to liquor stores, and restaurants would be prohibited from selling these drinks.
- The bill permits stand-alone hemp stores to continue operating if they obtain a license similar to those required for liquor stores, a provision that helped gain legislative support.
- After over two years of discussion, Democrats supported the compromise to preserve independent hemp stores, and the bill now returns to the House for further consideration or negotiation.
South Carolina’s full Senate has approved a rewritten version of House Bill 3924 on a 35 to 4 vote. The legislation would allow hemp beverages containing up to 5 milligrams of THC to be sold in convenience stores and grocery stores, but only if they are kept behind the counter alongside nicotine products. Hemp beverages containing more than 5 milligrams of THC, as well as infused gummies, would be limited to liquor stores under the proposal. Restaurants would not be allowed to sell the drinks.
The revised bill would also allow stand-alone hemp stores to remain in business, provided they obtain a license meeting the same requirements tied to operating a liquor store. That provision appeared to help win over some lawmakers who had objected to an earlier compromise that would have more aggressively restricted the market.
The debate comes after more than two years of attempts in South Carolina to address psychoactive hemp products sold in food and drinks at retail stores across the state.
According to the report, Democrats ultimately backed the second compromise in part because it preserved a path forward for independent hemp stores. The measure now heads back to the House, where lawmakers will decide whether to accept the Senate’s sweeping changes or continue negotiations over how the state should regulate hemp-derived THC products.