H 3444 Session 123 (2019-2020) H 3444 General Bill, By Rutherford and Cobb-Hunter A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 44-53-370, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE OFFENSES AND PENALTIES, SO AS TO LEGALIZE THE POSSESSION OF TWENTY-EIGHT GRAMS OR ONE OUNCE OR LESS OF MARIJUANA OR TEN GRAMS OR LESS OF HASHISH BY A VETERAN WITH AN HONORABLE DISCHARGE OR A GENERAL UNDER HONORABLE CONDITIONS DISCHARGE, WHOM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HAS DIAGNOSED WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) ARISING FROM THE VETERAN'S DUTY IN AN AREA THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES DESIGNATED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER AS AN AREA IN WHICH UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES ARE ENGAGING OR HAVE ENGAGED IN COMBAT.
TO AMEND SECTION 44-53-370, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE OFFENSES AND PENALTIES, SO AS TO LEGALIZE THE POSSESSION OF TWENTY-EIGHT GRAMS OR ONE OUNCE OR LESS OF MARIJUANA OR TEN GRAMS OR LESS OF HASHISH BY A VETERAN WITH AN HONORABLE DISCHARGE OR A GENERAL UNDER HONORABLE CONDITIONS DISCHARGE, WHOM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HAS DIAGNOSED WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) ARISING FROM THE VETERAN'S DUTY IN AN AREA THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES DESIGNATED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER AS AN AREA IN WHICH UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES ARE ENGAGING OR HAVE ENGAGED IN COMBAT. Whereas, mental and behavioral health experts estimate that as many as twenty percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and Whereas, the National Institute of Mental Health recently concluded that the suicide rate among veterans is fifty percent higher than the national average, and PTSD is a major contributing factor; and Whereas, according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, on average, approximately twenty-two former members of the Armed Forces commit suicide every day; and Whereas, traditional PTSD medications, including Zoloft and Paxil, have proven ineffective for many patients and possess known deleterious side effects for many others; and Whereas, there is growing evidence that marijuana can positively affect the brain circuits involved in PTSD; and Whereas, according to research conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical that gives marijuana its feel-good qualities, acts on a system in the brain that is critical for fear and anxiety modulation; and Whereas, when South Carolina's combat veterans are suffering to the point where they are committing suicide at nearly a fifty percent higher rate than the general population, the State, at a minimum, should not criminalize the one treatment that might alleviate the ravaging effects of PTSD; and Whereas, South Carolina must reform its criminal penalties for marijuana possession to free up the necessary time and money to go after violent criminals who cause true havoc and loss of life in our communities. Now, therefore, Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina: SECTION 1. Section 44-53-370(d)(4) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(4)(a) 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, 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
(b) When a person is charged under this subsection for possession of controlled substances, bail shall not exceed the amount of the fine and the assessment provided pursuant to Section 14-1-206, 14-1-207, or 14-1-208, whichever is applicable. A person charged under this item for a first offense for possession of controlled substances may forfeit bail by nonappearance. Upon forfeiture in general sessions court, the fine portion of the bail must be distributed (c) Notwithstanding another provision of law, it is not unlawful for a veteran with an honorable discharge or a general under honorable conditions discharge, whom the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has diagnosed with service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) arising from the veteran's duty in an area that the President of the United States designated by executive order as an area in which United States armed forces are engaging or have engaged in combat to possess twenty-eight grams or one ounce or less of marijuana or ten grams or less of hashish." SECTION 2. The repeal or amendment by this act of any law, whether temporary or permanent or civil or criminal, does not affect pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon, or alter, discharge, release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under the repealed or amended law, unless the repealed or amended provision shall so expressly provide. After the effective date of this act, all laws repealed or amended by this act must be taken and treated as remaining in full force and effect for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested right, civil action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal existing as of the effective date of this act, and for the enforcement of rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood under the repealed or amended laws. SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
|