South Carolina Senate Approves Bill to Keep Hemp THC Drinks and Gummies Legal

COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Senate voted 35-4 to advance a bill that would maintain legal access to hemp-derived THC beverages and gummies for adults while setting strict caps on potency and sales channels.

The measure, House Bill 3924, adds a new chapter to state law to oversee hemp-derived THC drinks and gelatine edibles, products that entered the market through the federal 2018 Farm Bill’s definition of hemp as containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis. Without state rules, these items operated in a gray area that lawmakers said required attention to protect public safety and align with potential federal updates.

Key provisions limit allowable THC to 10 milligrams per serving – a 12-ounce can or bottle for drinks, or one gummy. Drinks with 5 milligrams or less in a 12-ounce serving could be stocked behind the counter at retailers holding both beer-and-wine and hemp licenses. Higher-potency drinks and all gummies would be confined to licensed liquor stores. The bill prohibits sales to anyone under 21, requires laboratory testing and clear labeling that includes potency, ingredients and health warnings, and bans synthetic cannabinoids outright. It also sets a 5-nanograms-per-milliliter blood threshold for THC impairment while driving and bars on-premise consumption in bars or restaurants.

The Senate reached the compromise after more than two weeks of floor debate, including a failed overnight vote the previous evening that prompted further amendments. Pre-existing stock could continue to be sold through November 2026, provided it meets certification standards. The legislation does not touch non-psychoactive CBD products already regulated under separate rules.

Sen. Michael Johnson, a Republican from York, said the package struck the balance needed to gain majority support. “Compromise was needed to make sure that we had the votes to keep this out of the hands of children,” he told reporters. The bill now returns to the House, which approved an earlier version last year, for review of the Senate changes before any third reading and potential delivery to Gov. Henry McMaster.

With federal restrictions on intoxicating hemp products scheduled to take hold in November 2026, South Carolina’s hemp-derived THC sector continues to serve adult consumers today in a largely unregulated environment that supports an estimated $1.5 billion in annual economic activity.

This Palmetto State approach illustrates one method of bringing structure to a fast-growing hemp segment without full prohibition. Whether the House concurs and the measure takes effect will shape supply chains, retail footprints and consumer options in a state where recreational Cannabis remains illegal. The outcome bears watching for producers, distributors and retailers monitoring similar regulatory experiments elsewhere. Meanwhile, failure to finalize the bill would leave operators exposed to the November 2026 federal threshold of just 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, forcing widespread reformulation of products or their removal from shelves.

Photo: The South Carolina State’s emblem courtesy of Anderson Design Group