The governor of South Carolina has approved a restrictive CBD-only bill into law in her state. But despite the moral victory for cannabis activists, the fact that it doesn’t allow cannabis to be cultivated in the state, nor does it even allow for psychoactive chemicals to be extracted or given to patients may be a real hinderance.
Senate Bill 1035 will allow certain qualified patients will be able to import CBD-rich oil from other states. The bill also sets up clinical trials at the University of South Carolina. Cannabis would not be able to be cultivated, though the bill does leave that possibility open down the line with federal approval. Instead, patients will have to get their CBD elsewhere and bring it back to the state.
Haley’s move comes after talking with parents of children suffering from severe seizure disorders like Jill Swing. Swing met with Haley back in May and urged her to approve the bill.
“I told them in no way does this bill support full, recreational marijuana,” Swing said last month. “I explained that the oil really is not marijuana, and they told me they felt sure (Haley) did understand that.”
It is unclear how immediate access to cannabis will be for patients.