Editor's Note

2014 Act No. 216, Section 1, findings, provides as follows:

"SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that:

"(1) Hemp is a fiber and oilseed crop with a wide variety of uses, including twine, rope, paper, construction materials, carpeting, and clothing, and has the potential for use as a cellulosic ethanol biofuel.

"(2) Hemp seeds have been used in making industrial oils, cosmetics, medicines, and food.

"(3) Hemp and marijuana are genetically different cultivars of the same plant species and are scientifically distinguishable from each other.

"(4) Hemp is grown for scientific, economic, and environmental uses while marijuana is grown for narcotic use.

"(5) Research and development related to hemp has the potential to provide a cash crop for South Carolina's farmers with broad commercial application that will enhance the economic diversity and stability of our state's agricultural industry."

2019 Act No. 14, Sections 2, 3, provide as follows:

"SECTION 2. (A) Within sixty days after the effective date of this act, the Commissioner of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture shall submit a state plan to the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture pursuant to which the South Carolina Department of Agriculture proposes to regulate hemp production. The submission shall include:

"(1) a practice to maintain relevant information regarding land on which hemp is produced in the State, including a legal description of the land, for a period of not less than three calendar years;

"(2) a procedure for testing, using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods, delta-9 THC concentration levels of hemp produced in the State;

"(3) a procedure for the effective disposal of products that are produced in violation of Chapter 55, Title 46, as amended by this act; and

"(4) a procedure to comply with the enforcement procedures outlined in this act.

"(B) If the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture disapproves the state plan, then the Commissioner of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Governor and Attorney General, shall submit to the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture an amended state plan.

"SECTION 3. (A) The forty 2019 licenses issued pursuant to Chapter 55, Title 46 prior to the effective date of this act shall be valid for the term of the licenses, under the terms and conditions under which the licenses were issued, except that, upon the approval of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, each licensee may expand operations beyond the forty-acre limit and may cultivate hemp for commercial purposes.

"(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 46-55-20(B)(3), as amended by this act, as of the date licenses were issued for 2019, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture may issue additional licenses for 2019 to any applicant that met the licensing criteria but was denied solely because the department had already issued the legally permitted number of licenses for the year. Licenses issued pursuant to this subsection shall be for the same term, and under the same terms and conditions, under which the forty licenses identified in subsection (A) were issued. Licensees pursuant to this subsection also may expand operations beyond the forty-acre limit and may cultivate hemp for commercial purposes upon the approval of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

"(C) The law under which licenses are issued shall be in full force and effect for those licenses during the term of the licenses."