Is Weed Legal in South Carolina? (2026)

Instrument

Marijuana definition and cannabidiol exclusion; Schedule I; possession penalty

Source

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t44c053.php

Retrieved

2026-11-07

Fingerprint

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S.C. Code Sec. 44-53-110(27). Definitions: marijuana

(27)(a) "Marijuana" means:

	(i) all species or variety of the marijuana plant and all parts thereof whether growing or not;

	(ii) the seeds of the marijuana plant;

	(iii) the resin extracted from any part of the marijuana plant; or

	(iv) every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the marijuana plant, marijuana seeds, or marijuana resin.

	(b) "Marijuana" does not mean:

	(i) the mature stalks of the marijuana plant or fibers produced from these stalks;

	(ii) oil or cake made from the seeds of the marijuana plant, including cannabidiol derived from the seeds of the marijuana plant;

	(iii) any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivatives, mixture, or preparation of the mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), including cannabidiol derived from mature stalks;

	(iv) the sterilized seed of the marijuana plant which is incapable of germination;

	(v) for persons participating in a clinical trial or in an expanded access program related to administering cannabidiol for the treatment of severe forms of epilepsy pursuant to Article 18, Chapter 53, Title 44, a drug or substance approved for the use of those participants by the federal Food and Drug Administration; or

	(vi) for persons, or the persons' parents, legal guardians, or other caretakers, who have received a written certification from a physician licensed in this State that the person has been diagnosed by a physician as having Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, Dravet Syndrome, also known as “severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy”, or any other severe form of epilepsy that is not adequately treated by traditional medical therapies, the substance cannabidiol, a nonpsychoactive cannabinoid, or any compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of any plant of the genus cannabis that contains nine-tenths of one percent or less of tetrahydrocannabinol and more than fifteen percent of cannabidiol.

	(c) For purposes of this item, written certification means a document dated and signed by a physician stating that the patient has been diagnosed with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, Dravet Syndrome, also known as “severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy”, or any other severe form of epilepsy that is not adequately treated by traditional medical therapies and the physician's conclusion that the patient might benefit from the medical use of cannabidiol.

	(d) A physician is not subject to detrimental action, including arrest, prosecution, penalty, denial of a right or privilege, civil penalty, or disciplinary action by a professional licensing board for providing written certification for the medical use of cannabidiol to a patient in accordance with this section.

S.C. Code Sec. 44-53-190(A) and (D). Schedule I

(A) The controlled substances listed in this section are included in Schedule I.

(D) Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of the following hallucinogenic substances, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers, unless specifically excepted, whenever the existence of such salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation:

	1. 3,4-methylenedioxy amphetamine

	2. 5-methoxy-3,4-methylenedioxy amphetamine

	3. 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)

	4. 3,4,5-trimethoxy amphetamine

	5. Bufotenine

	6. Diethyltryptamine (DET)

	7. Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)

	8. 4-methyl-2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine (STP)

	9. Ibogaine

	10. Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

	11. Marijuana

	12. Mescaline

	13. Peyote

	14. N-ethyl-3-piperidyl benzilate

	15. N-methyl-3-piperidyl benzilate

	16. Psilocybin

	17. Psilocyn

	18. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

	19. 2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine

	20. 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine

	21. 4-Methoxyamphetamine

	22. Thiophene analog of phencyclidine

	23. Parahexyl

	24. Synthetic cannabinoids.—Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that is not listed as a controlled substance in Schedule I through V, is not an FDA-approved drug, and contains any quantity of the following substances, their salts, isomers (whether optical, positional, or geometric), homologues, and salts of isomers and homologues, unless specifically excepted, whenever the existence of these salts, isomers, homologues, and salts of isomers and homologues is possible within the specific chemical designation:

	a. Naphthoylindoles. Any compound containing a 3-(1-naphthoyl)indole structure with substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring by an alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, 1-(N-methyl-2-piperidinyl)methyl, or 2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl group, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the naphthyl ring to any extent. Including, but not limited to, JWH-015, JWH-018, JWH-019, JWH-073, JWH-081, JWH-122, JWH-200, JWH-210, JWH-398, AM-2201, WIN 55-212, AM-2201 (C1 analog), AM-1220.

	b. Naphthylmethylindoles. Any compound containing a 1H-indol-3-yl-(1-naphthyl)methane structure with substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring by an alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, 1-(N-methyl-2-piperidinyl)methyl, or 2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl group, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the naphthyl ring to any extent.

	c. Naphthoylpyrroles. Any compound containing a 3-(1-naphthoyl)pyrrole structure with substitution at the nitrogen atom of the pyrrole ring by an alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, 1-(N-methyl-2-piperidinyl)methyl, or 2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl group, whether or not further substituted in the pyrrole ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the naphthyl ring to any extent. Including, but not limited to, JWH-307, JWH-370, JWH-176.

	d. Naphthylmethylindenes. Any compound containing a naphthylideneindene structure with substitution at the 3-position of the indene ring by an alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, 1-(N-methyl-2-piperidinyl)methyl, or 2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl group, whether or not further substituted in the indene ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the naphthyl ring to any extent.

	e. Phenylacetylindoles. Any compound containing a 3-phenylacetylindole structure with substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring by an alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, 1-(N-methyl-2-piperidinyl)methyl, or 2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl group, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the phenyl ring to any extent. Including, but not limited to, SR-18, RCS-8, JWH-203, JWH-250, JWH-251.

	f. Cyclohexylphenols. Any compound containing a 2-(3-hydroxycyclohexyl)phenol structure with substitution at the 5-position of the phenolic ring by an alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, 1-(N-methyl-2-piperidinyl)methyl, or 2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl group, whether or not substituted in the cyclohexyl ring to any extent. Including, but not limited to, CP 47,497 (and homologues), cannabicyclohexanol, CP-55, 940.

	g. Benzoylindoles. Any compound containing a 3-(benzoyl)indole structure with substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring by an alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, 1-(N-methyl-2-piperidinyl)methyl, or 2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl group, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the phenyl ring to any extent. Including, but not limited to, AM-694, Pravadoline (WIN 48,098), RCS-4, AM-630, AM-1241, AM-2233.

	h. 2,3-Dihydro-5-methyl-3-(4-morpholinylmethyl)pyrrolo [1,2,3-de]-1, 4-benzoxazin-6-yl]-1-napthalenylmethanone (WIN 55,212-2).

	i. 9-(hydroxymethyl)-6,6-dimethy l-3-(2-methyloctan-2-yl)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydrobenzo[c]chromen-1-ol 7370 (HU-210, HU-211).

	j. Adamantoylindoles. Any compound containing a 3-(1-adamantoyl)indole structure with substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring by a alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkylmethyl, cycloalkylethyl, 1-(N-methyl-2-piperidinyl)methyl or 2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl group, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent and whether or not substituted in the adamantyl ring system to any extent.

S.C. Code Sec. 44-53-370(d)(5). Prohibited acts; penalties: possession

(5) possession of more than: one gram of cocaine, one hundred milligrams of alpha- or beta-eucaine, four grains of opium, four grains of morphine, two grains of heroin, two grains of fentanyl or a fentanyl-related substance as described in Section 44-53-190 or 44-53-210, one hundred milligrams of isonipecaine, twenty-eight grams or one ounce of marijuana, ten grams of hashish, fifty micrograms of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or its compounds, fifteen tablets, capsules, dosage units, or the equivalent quantity of 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), or twenty milliliters or milligrams of gamma hydroxybutyric acid or a controlled substance analogue of gamma hydroxybutyric acid, is prima facie guilty of violation of subsection (a) of this section. A person who violates this subsection with respect to twenty-eight grams or one ounce or less of marijuana or ten grams or less of hashish is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than thirty days or fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two hundred dollars. Conditional discharge may be granted in accordance with the provisions of Section 44-53-450 upon approval by the circuit solicitor to the magistrate or municipal judge. As a part of a sentence, a magistrate or municipal judge may require attendance at an approved drug abuse program. Persons charged with the offense of possession of marijuana or hashish under this item may be permitted to enter the pretrial intervention program under the provisions of Sections 17-22-10 through 17-22-160. For a second or subsequent offense, the offender is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or both. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person convicted and sentenced pursuant to this item may have the sentence suspended and probation granted and is eligible for parole, supervised furlough, community supervision, work release, work credits, education credits, and good conduct credits.