It's a big week ahead in the Statehouse if medical marijuana is going to become a reality this year.

Beaufort Republican state Sen. Tom Davis — the effort's leading advocate — on Thursday will offer a comprehensive set of modifications he hopes will mollify the doctors and members of law enforcement who oppose his bill.

For doctors, he'll lessen the universe of ailments medical marijuana is qualified to treat, settling on seven or eight areas.

That includes neurological conditions such as Parkinson's, Crohn's, epilepsy and cerebral palsy, in addition to chronic pain.

Among his other offerings, he'll require doctors who "authorize" its use to a patient (as opposed to "prescribe" since medical marijuana does not come in recognized milligram doses, Davis said) to do mandatory follow-ups with those patients.

Doctors would also have to stay in close contact with the pharmacist involved and get continual education on the drug's usages.

For law enforcement, he'll stress they can observe dispensaries and grow operations around the clock. Also, agents can monitor the entire chain — from cultivation to transport and pharmacy display — and be allowed to conduct unannounced site inspections.

Guidance for field sobriety testing for anyone driving under the influence of medical cannabis would be created.

Local jurisdictions would be able to pursue opting out of accepting a grow or sales operation if officials determine they didn't suit the interests of their community.

Davis, who has been working on medical marijuana legislation for six years, said he hopes to have the most conservative medical marijuana bill in the country.

"Fear of the unknown has been what's held us back," he said.

Contrary to what's available in other states, Davis' bill would not legalize smoking pot. It limits the form of medical marijuana delivery to vaping it as an oil, rubbing it on skin as a topical salve or as an edible.

Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email

Sign Up!

Davis' new offerings come as the lobbying effort to get medical marijuana passed in South Carolina has taken some odd turns in the past year.

One of the leading lobbying groups in its favor, Palmetto Medical Cannabis, disbanded. Its investors — a group of South Carolina business-minded folks who saw the potential for profit in getting behind community dispensaries — called it quits.

Meanwhile, another advocacy stopped lobbying outright. Instead, the S.C. Compassionate Care Alliance switched gears to focus on being an educational non-profit.

That means going at lawmakers through what founder Jill Swing of Charleston, whose daughter has epilepsy, termed an information campaign.

One of their methods included flying six members of the state Senate's Medical Affairs Committee on fact-finding tours to Maryland's medical marijuana dispensary operations last fall.

Still others are relying on tried and true methods. The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, for instance, spent nearly $55,000 in Statehouse lobbying in 2019, state records show.

That's not an insignificant sum.

Going forward, there's still a lot of moving parts, including the fact that State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel and the S.C. Medical Association remain opposed to medical marijuana being legalized in the state.

There's also the May 14 end of session clock that's running out fast.

One Statehouse timing calendar to watch is this: The actual full Medical Affairs Committee vote on Davis' amendments won't be held for another couple weeks, which would be after the March 30 candidate filing period closes.

That means lawmakers will know how risky their seats are before they decide if they're pro or con.