Photo Credit: Andrew Brown, Post & Courier
Columbia, SC – Joined by members of the state’s medical trade association and representatives from the law enforcement community, South Carolina’s Attorney General Alan Wilson declared marijuana “the most dangerous drug in America because it is the most misunderstood drug” at a recent press conference at the Statehouse.
The event was held so the South Carolina Medical Association, the South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association and Wilson could announce their opposition to modernizing the state’s medical marijuana laws.
According to The Post & Courier, the Attorney General rattled off a string of slang to describe the effects of marijuana.
“They use words like stoned, high, wasted, baked, fried, cooked, chonged, cheeched, dope-faced, blazed, blitzed, blunted, blasted, danked, stupid, wrecked — and that’s only half the words they use,” Wilson said.
The Attorney General’s press conference did not go over well on social media.
Sounds more like hash brown options at waffle house.
When are folks going to learn that theirs a difference between med. users and rec. users?
Does “30s, 40s, Beans, Blues Buttons, Greens, OC, Oxy & Whites” sound like were talking about medicine? Oxycodone users think it does.
— Scruffy Nerf Herder (@CTCullensArt) January 23, 2019
What Alan Wilson thinks being high is like.
Also: “dope-faced?” #nope pic.twitter.com/NLE5i9zwLt
— Dan Smith (@dws3665) January 23, 2019
The State Senate’s leading champion for medical marijuana reform, Senator Tom Davis of Beaufort, chimed in on the Mr. Wilson’s “most dangerous drug in America” declaration.
No words. pic.twitter.com/P6fhMSWvxm
— Tom Davis (@senatortomdavis) January 24, 2019
The state’s former Lieutenant Governor and Anderson pharmacist, Kevin Bryant, amplified Senator Davis’ Tweet.
my pharmacy is full of more dangerous drugs https://t.co/lWqSpBCArQ
— Kevin Bryant (@kevinbryantsc) January 24, 2019
Momentum has been building over the last few years to modernize the state’s cannabis laws. Senator Tom Davis and others have been sharing stories of South Carolina families whose life have benefited from medical marijuana. The South Carolina Cannabis Association Facebook group page launched the day after Wilson’s press conference to promote reforming marijuana laws.
According to the Charleston City Paper, the Compassionate Care Act would allow doctors to recommend the medical use of cannabis to certain patients with “debilitating medical conditions,” such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It would also create the necessary programs and processes to oversee the cultivation, processing, and dispensing of cannabis in South Carolina.