Bill > H3135

Introduced Session

A bill to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by amending Section 44-53-370, relating to CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE OFFENSES AND PENALTIES, so as to LEGALIZE THE POSSESSION OF TWENTY-EIGHT GRAMS OR ONE OUNCE OR LESS OF MARIJUANA OR TEN GRAMS OR LESS OF HASHISH BY CERTAIN VETERANS DIAGNOSED WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. Whereas, mental and behavioral health experts estimate that as many as twenty percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and Whereas, the National Institute of Mental Health recently concluded that the suicide rate among veterans is fifty percent higher than the national average, and PTSD is a major contributing factor; and Whereas, according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, on average, approximately twenty-two former members of the Armed Forces commit suicide every day; and Whereas, traditional PTSD medications, including Zoloft and Paxil, have proven ineffective for many patients and possess known deleterious side effects for many others; and Whereas, there is growing evidence that marijuana can positively affect the brain circuits involved in PTSD; and Whereas, according to research conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical that gives marijuana its feel-good qualities, acts on a system in the brain that is critical for fear and anxiety modulation; and Whereas, when South Carolina's combat veterans are suffering to the point where they are committing suicide at nearly a fifty percent higher rate than the general population, the State, at a minimum, should not criminalize the one treatment that might alleviate the ravaging effects of PTSD; and Whereas, South Carolina must reform its criminal penalties for marijuana possession to free up the necessary time and money to go after violent criminals who cause true havoc and loss of life in our communities. Now, therefore,

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Todd Rutherford (D)*, 

Referred to Committee on Judiciary (on 01/10/2023)

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