Staff reports | Some S.C. businesses that market some legal hemp products are making changes less than a month after the state Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) issued a sweeping letter to food and beverage makers warning against advertising THC products.
Meanwhile in related news, the state Senate again is considering a medical marijuana bill that would legalize the limited use of medical marijuana in South Carolina, continuing a years-long push by advocates to pass the legislation. Senators ended debate Thursday without taking a vote.
This week in Charleston, seltzer brand High Rise Beverage Co. announced it will pause distribution of hemp seltzers. In Greenville, the owner of a Greenville hemp shop previously raided by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has said his business lost millions of dollars and that he planned to pull his business out of South Carolina until the government could provide more clarity on what is and is not legal in regards to hemp products.
DHEC’s Jan. 22 letter to the legal hemp industry declared that product labels for hemp-infused foods and drinks should not advertise that they contain THC, CBD or Delta-9 — all naturally occurring in hemp oil. High Rise reportedly plans to launch a hemp and THC-free line of adaptogen seltzers in March called the “Blackout Edition.”
A measure proposed in November, House Bill 4628, calls for legalization of hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing Delta-8 and other forms of THC as long as they abide by federal limits. The law would also impose product testing and packaging requirements and an age requirement of 21 on hemp products.
Also in recent headlines:
Only Anne Frank Center in U.S. is in Columbia. A modern-day friendship between two scholars — one Dutch, the other a South Carolinian — “set in motion” the possibility of a partner center for Amsterdam’s famous Anne Frank House, to be at the University of South Carolina (USC) in Columbia. The Anne Frank Center opened in 2021 and is the only partner site in the United States. Other locations are in Berlin and Buenos Aires.
S.C. House speaker, Senate president trade barbs over judicial selection process. A contentious push to change the way South Carolina elects its judges has been simmering in the Statehouse for months. Elections on dozens of judges are delayed.
S.C. woman files lawsuit challenging state’s abortion ban. A South Carolina woman who says she tried to follow the rules embedded in South Carolina’s six-week abortion ban but was forced out of state for care is now suing for clarification and an injunction. More information is below in “Another View.”
State death penalty up for debate again in high court. South Carolina’s Supreme Court heard arguments Feb. 6 over the constitutionality of the firing squad and electric chair as death penalty methods.
Trump to make campaign stop in Horry County. Former President Donald Trump is making his way to the Grand Strand on Saturday to host a “Get Out the Vote” rally at Coastal Carolina University’s HTC Center.
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