Yo, what’s up fam? The delta-8 THC game is blowin’ up like never before, bein’ regulated just like hemp. But hold up, South Carolina might be changin’ the whole game if this one proposal goes through.
Check it, Rep. Rosalyn Henderson-Myers, reppin’ that D-Spartanburg crew, filed a bill for South Carolina’s next legislative session. This bill aims to lay down some rules and regulations for delta-8 THC and similar products. It’s tryna make it so you can cop these products anywhere they sell hemp stuff.
This bill, called H. 4628, got dropped in the South Carolina House on Nov. 16. It got sent to the Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs for review.
Now, here’s the deal. If this bill gets passed, it’s gonna lay down some strict guidelines for producin’ and sellin’ delta-8 THC and other related products. You gotta be 21 or older to cop these goodies, no kids allowed.
But wait, there’s more. There’s gonna be a tax slapped on these products at the retail level. They tryna hit you with a 5% sales tax. And get this, that money ain’t just goin’ into some politician’s pockets. They gonna use it to regulate the whole industry, keep things in line.
Producers and retailers gonna have to get licensed by the state too. And any hemp-derived product that’s made or sold in South Carolina gotta go through some tests. They makin’ sure it ain’t got no pesticides or toxins in it, and it only got the legal amount of delta-9 THC.
Oh, but don’t think this license is gonna be your only expense. Nah, you still gotta pay for all them other business licenses. Plus, you gotta drop $500 a year if you a producer, and $250 if you a retailer for this special delta-8 THC license.
And that ain’t all. These products gotta have safety labels on ’em and come in child-resistant packaging. Gotta keep them kids safe, ya know?
Now, here’s the real talk. These products ain’t even considered controlled substances in South Carolina. But some people out here actin’ like they are, followin’ some messed up interpretation of the law. That’s why we need a bill like this to pass, so ain’t nobody gettin’ it twisted.
But yo, check this out. Even with all these warnings from law enforcement, tellin’ people these products illegal as hell, there’s still confusion out there. Take my man Mike Sims for example. He got his store, Crowntown Cannabis, in Columbia, South Carolina. Last January, the police rolled up on him, sayin’ he was sellin’ straight-up marijuana. But nah fam, that ain’t the case. He was sellin’ hemp-derived products.
See, this confusion about what’s considered “hot hemp” is a real problem in South Carolina. The Columbia Police Department sent letters to over 30 retailers in the city, sayin’ that delta-8 THC is illegal. They just followin’ what the South Carolina Attorney General said back in October 2021.
According to the state law, it’s illegal to make, distribute, or possess a Schedule I drug. You could end up locked up for up to six months or hit with a fine up to $1,000 for just possessin’ that joint. And if you manufacturin’ or distributin’, you might be lookin’ at five to twenty years in the slammer and a fine up to $20,000 for your third offense. They don’t play around.
The thing is, South Carolina’s Hemp Farming Act don’t specifically say that delta-8 THC is illegal. That’s why we stuck in this gray area. It’s all ’cause of a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill. That bill limits THC to 0.3% in hemp products, but it don’t say nothin’ ’bout delta-8 THC.
But for real, delta-8 and delta-9 THC ain’t even the same thing. They got some significant differences, ya feel me? Researchers been studyin’ this stuff for years. They figured out how to partially synthesize delta-8 way back in 1941, thanks to Roger Adams and his team at the University of Illinois. Then in 1966, Dr. Raphael Mechoulam and Dr. Yechiel Gaoni did a total synthesis of delta-8 as part of their groundbreaking work. Dr. Mechoulam even got a patent for convertin’ CBD into delta-8 and THC, which expired in 2022.
But check this out, last year this farmer in South Carolina sued the state ’cause they destroyed his hemp crop. Homie John Trenton Pendarvis said the state denied him due process when they found his unreported hemp crops on his property. That ain’t right, man.
So, there you have it, South Carolina tryna tax and regulate that delta-8 THC game. We’ll see if this bill gets passed and changes the whole game in the Palmetto State. Stay tuned!