As more South Carolina farmers continue to grow hemp and CBD products, the legality of what they can grow and sell only becomes more unclear.
The Hemp Farming Act of 2019 states that it is “unlawful for a person to cultivate, handle, or process hemp in this state without a hemp license.”
The law also prohibits the sale of unprocessed hemp flowers. However, it remains unclear what “unprocessed” means legally, leaving it to law enforcement to decide whether the law is being broken on a case-by-case basis.
“It is very ambiguous and it is probably keeping a lot of people from having better health and acquisition to a product that could be very helpful,” Joy Boone Gunter, a CBD advocate, said.
With the uncertainty surrounding the law, retailers have responded in a panic, pulling anything off of their shelves that could be argued “unprocessed” as they fear prosecution.
This prosecution is a fear for many sellers, though the question of whether that fear is in good reason remains unanswered.
“Legally, I would be anxious if I were them, but I don’t think they deserve it,” Gunter said.
In an opinion, the South Carolina Attorney General, Alan Wilson, questions the definition of “unlawful” and whether, in this context, it can be synonymous with “criminal” and what specific actions would be taken against someone who violated the act.
South Carolina citizens have reacted to these bans negatively, leading to the development of a number of petitions urging citizens to sign in efforts to lift the ban.
Amanda Jordan, creator of one of these petitions, wrote, “South Carolina is infringing on rights given to citizens by federal law.”
“I do think taking it [hemp and CBD products] away is probably putting us at risk,” Gunter said. “I am a very firm first-hand believer in these products.”
With the ban in act and the law being twisted, Gunter believes it is important to hold onto why these products were introduced in the first place and understand what is at risk when discussing putting limits on what can be sold.
“The main thing is sleep. I would go to sleep easily but I would always wake up from night terrors. I had them every night, and since I started on [hemp and CBD products], those have totally gone away,” Gunter said. “I absolutely love it. There’s a lot of stuff out there that’s not really good, but I can’t say enough good for it.”
