A provision buried in the November 2025 federal government reopening bill (you know, the never-ending fight Congress keeps kicking down the road) would significantly reduce the amount of Delta-9 THC to a trace level with no psychoactive or pain-relieving benefits. This, from the same folks who convene each day — and probably every day — at the Hay-Adams bar guzzling alcohol, a far more dangerous and addictive drug.
Since the average age of a member of the U.S. Congress is about 60, many of them seem to believe getting hammered on bourbon or scotch is a God-given right (at least since Prohibition, which didn’t work out so well either), while other forms of plant-based intoxicants — except wine, which is in the Bible, for Christ’s sake — are somehow not a transcendent gift from on high.
But even if you are 60 years old, you likely spent much of your youth around weed and managed not to drive into a highway overpass, leap off a building, or slaughter innocent people (unless you made ICE your career). Frankly, I would rather share the road with someone on THC than someone who’s been drinking hooch.
That said, any actual legislation will likely fall to the individual states. In fact, the process has already begun in the Palmetto State. A week ago, a rare coalition of Democrats and breakaway Republicans forced leaders in the GOP supermajority chamber to pull back a pair of THC-related bills that were expected to pass comfortably. Both bills were sponsored by Weston Newton, R-Beaufort, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
The first bill proposed outlawing all THC-infused edibles and allowing only the sale of 12-ounce containers of drinks containing 5 milligrams or less of THC. Purchasers would have to be 21 or older, and sales would be limited to liquor stores. The second bill was an outright ban on all THC-infused products.
Cooler heads were quick to note that THC products represent a $1.5 billion industry in South Carolina, employing roughly 3,500 people across 1,800 small businesses — most of which would be shuttered by the legislation. South Carolina-based THC beverage manufacturers currently serve consumers in 14 states. Moreover, critics argued, it is unnecessary to ban an entire category of popular consumer products — which many say provide opioid-free relief from conditions such as chronic pain and PTSD — in order to implement reasonable age restrictions.
Dorchester County Republican Rep. Greg Ford, who became a grower, processor, and retailer of hemp after doctors recommended THC for his young son’s life-threatening seizures, argued instead for legalizing and regulating the industry. His son, Ford said, is now 24 and relies on THC for his health.
This is the direction California took. Since legalizing recreational cannabis sales in January 2018, the state has collected more than $7.61 billion in total cannabis tax revenue through the third quarter of 2025. That would pay for a lot of higher teacher salaries in South Carolina, which badly needs to improve its public education system.
Do we need to keep THC out of the hands of children? Absolutely. (Hopefully your kids aren’t as crafty at hiding their consumption as you were.) But dismantling an entire industry that helps people in many different ways — such as Greg Ford’s son — and is far less dangerous than alcohol seems less about public safety and more about prioritizing old prejudices over new evidence.