South Carolina Senate approves medical marijuana bill, House up next

South Carolina senators Wednesday approved the use of medical marijuana in the state on a 28-15 vote that finished a Republican senator’s seven-year quest to pass the proposal, but the legislation still has some hurdles to pass to become law.

The proposal had both bipartisan support and opposition in the Republican-dominated Senate. Seventeen Republicans voted for the bill and 10 opposed it. It faces one more routine vote before going to the state House where it has never been taken up.

The bill has been a crusade for Sen. Tom Davis for seven years and several senators said his tireless attempts to change their minds turned them into supporters. Back in 2016, the Beaufort Republican would take the floor of the Senate every day during the short period for senators to make personal speeches, opportunities Davis would use to spotlight someone suffering without medical marijuana.

Davis said his proposal would be one of the most conservative among the 37 states that have approved medical marijuana, including Mississippi, which signed a bill into law last week.