Advertisement Patients urge passage of medical marijuana legislation in South Carolina Doctorss medical workers, patients tell personal stories at State House

A group of concerned South Carolina citizens and professionals gathered Wednesday at the State House in Columbia to call on the Legislature to adopt a compassionate medical cannabis program in 2020.Speakers included medical professionals, veterans and patients who shared stories of how marijuana and CBD helped them overcome a wide range of physical, emotional and mental problems.The group is urging lawmakers to enact the Compassionate Care Act, a measure introduced during the last legislative session that would allow doctors to legally prescribe medical marijuana.WebMD describes cannabis, or marijuana, as a plant that makes a thick substance full of compounds called cannabinoids. There are more than 100 of these chemicals in cannabis. They cause drug-like reactions in your body.Margaret Richardson, of Beaufort, who suffers from trigeminal neuralgia, an extremely painful condition, told her personal story of how she has relied on medical cannabis for relief for the past year.She also mentioned how cannabis can help people who suffer from terminal illnesses and alleviate chronic conditions ranging from epilepsy to sickle cell disease to cancer."We have people literally dying of cancer, and I've known several, who have no way to have relief without the medical cannabis, because what that does is it quells the nausea it allows them to talk and be present with their family as they leave this world, rather than be knocked out in a coma so that they don't hurt.""Because it's illegal, we are forced to creep around like criminals," Richardson said.She tearfully told reporters that she ran out of her own two-month supply of medical cannabis Tuesday night."None of us ever know where we will get it. I don't know what I will do tomorrow. I don't know when I will get any again. I don't have a source because I'm not allowed to go to a doctor in my state who has the proper credentials to give me a prescription for my specific need."You creep around like a criminal. You're scared when you travel or you drive that you'll get caught. But you need it for relief."In 2019, the Compassionate Care Act was introduced and sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis in the Senate and Rep. Peter McCoy in the House. The bills would establish a comprehensive, well-regulated medical cannabis program in South Carolina. Both the House and Senate are picking up the medical cannabis discussion this session where they left off.On the House side, H.B. 3660 has been scheduled for a Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee subcommittee hearing Tuesday at 2 p.m.The Senate Medical Affairs Committee is expected to take up S.B. 366 again in the coming weeks.In a statement, the South Carolina Podiatric Medical Association offered its support for the Compassionate Care Act."The SCPMA supports evidence based treatment with medical cannabis when it provides a therapeutic and palliative benefit and when used under the supervision of a podiatrist or other physician," it said.