‘Absolute roller coaster’: SC hemp industry braces for statehouse decision on THC

SOUTH CAROLINA (FOX Carolina) — South Carolina’s hemp and THC market generates an estimated $1.5 billion in annual economic impact, but a lack of clear state regulation has left businesses vulnerable to arrest and closure while lawmakers weigh seven competing bills.

Enforcement actions across the state

Greenville County announced a crackdown in 2024 on stores selling products alleged to exceed the 0.3% THC limit.

“At the end of the day, if it gets you high, it’s illegal in South Carolina,” said Walt Wilkins, who was the 13th Circuit Solicitor at the time.

In 2025, the state attorney general’s office announced Operation Ganjapreneur, resulting in the arrest of 12 people in the Midlands over allegedly illegal products.

Arrests also continued in the Grand Strand area, where the Surfside Beach Police Department seized more than 100 pounds of what it described as unregulated THC material.

McGrath Law Firm says it filed legal action over DEA seizures

Mount Pleasant-based McGrath Law Firm said it has filed legal action challenging what it described as unlawful seizures tied to recent enforcement actions involving the Drug Enforcement Administration and SLED.

In an updated release, the firm said the actions targeted “lawfully operating hemp retailers” and included the seizure of inventory and business assets and the freezing of bank accounts. The firm argues the retailers operate under the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 — commonly called the 2018 Farm Bill — which permits hemp-derived products containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis.

The firm said the DEA has alleged certain products exceeded that threshold. However, McGrath Law Firm said retailers buy products from distributors who represent the products as legal, leaving shops “caught in the middle.”

Attorney Peter G. McGrath, a former federal prosecutor, called the enforcement “classic overreach” and compared it to “hitting an ant with a sledgehammer,” arguing the government should have pursued more targeted steps, such as requests for inventory and narrower search warrants.

The firm said it has submitted formal demands for the return of seized property it says is not tied to any alleged violations and that it is prepared to pursue additional remedies in federal and state court, including injunctive relief.

SLED chief responds

On Wednesday, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Chief Mark Keel released a statement responding to allegations from Mount Pleasant-based McGrath Law Firm that the agency had made “unlawful seizures” of hemp shops across the state. The full statement is below:

“Yesterday the McGrath Law Firm, led by attorney Peter McGrath, sent a press release to members of the media alleging the “unlawful seizure of millions of dollars in inventory, and business assets from legally operating hemp retailers across South Carolina” by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Notably, these allegations against SLED were later retracted by the McGrath Law Firm. However, in my view the damage was done and a response is warranted. SLED has not been served with any legal action by Mr. McGrath at this point. To our knowledge, no law enforcement agency has been served with any legal action.

SLED supports the DEA, as well as our local, state, and other federal partners, in ridding our communities of dangerous illicit drugs. While it would be improper to release any additional information at this time, including forensic analysis of products from these shops, I encourage everyone to carefully evaluate all claims made in this or future releases.

As the Chief of SLED, as a law enforcement professional for nearly 50 years, and as a father and grandfather; I will not sit idly by while a well-funded cannabis industry invades South Carolina with the hopes of legitimizing and normalizing these dangerous products. I refuse to sit on the sidelines while what are, in my opinion, neighborhood drug dealers operate under the guise of legitimacy.

These vape-style shops have popped up in neighborhoods across South Carolina with flashy lights and illicit products, and are peddling dangerous, high potency, intoxicating THC products to anyone who will buy them - often with tragic consequences.

In a recent analysis provided to SLED, there are hundreds of these vape-style shops in the Low Country and Midlands regions of South Carolina within 1/2 mile of a school.

I urge you to educate yourselves and your children on the harm these dangerous drugs pose.

It is my sincere hope that we as a state say, “enough is enough” and rid ourselves of high potency THC products and the ability of vape shops to sell them. These high potency products pose a real risk to our citizens, especially our young people, and we must take appropriate action.

Finally, I will not stand down to this industry or to their lawyers – especially when they make false allegations. What I will do, as I have done throughout my near five decades of law enforcement service, is do what is right and enforce the laws of this state with integrity."

SLED Chief Mark Keel

Industry calls for regulation

Zach Serrins, executive director of the South Carolina Healthy Alternatives Association — a trade group that advocates for hemp — said business owners want clear laws.

“Most store owners I know have been clamoring for the state to regulate this industry for years,” Serrins said.

Following the Operation Ganjapreneur announcement, the association released a statement saying the arrests “underscores the need for regulation” but also that “multiple law abiding business owners ... were arrested and hit with unreasonable drug trafficking charges.”

“We have seen sort of random enforcement around this,” Serrins said. “And that’s a big part of the reason that we are trying to make sure that the comprehensive regulatory bill we put forward has teeth that law enforcement can use to enforce good, sensible regulations around this.”

An anonymous store owner described what they said was needed most: “They should take a list of products that we can sell and just put it out there.”

Testing data shows sharp rise in marijuana cases

Data presented at the statehouse this year showed marijuana made up 5% of total analyzed drug tests in 2010. By 2024, that figure had risen to 51% — more than any other drug category. Methamphetamine was the second most tested drug at 15%.

Senate debates House Bill 3924

Of the seven THC-related bills in the statehouse, House Bill 3924 has already moved to the Senate. The bill regulates THC drinks, bans synthetic cannabinoids, and sets rules for a range of hemp products.

Under the bill, THC beverages would require licenses for manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. THC would be capped at five milligrams in a standard 12-ounce can or 10 milligrams per serving in a larger 750-milliliter bottle. Stronger drinks could only be sold in licensed liquor stores. Purchasers would need to be at least 21.

Other bills in the statehouse range from a complete ban on THC and hemp products — including gummies, lotions, and tinctures — to proposals that would limit legal sales to beverages only.

Business owner weighs future in home state

David Spang, owner of Coastal Green Wellness in North Myrtle Beach, said he entered the industry in 2017 when the federal farm bill was a one-year provisional measure. He now operates five locations — three in South Carolina and two in Georgia.

“Absolute roller coaster is the short answer,” Spang said of the past eight years.

Spang said operating in Georgia is different because state lawmakers there passed legislation specifically outlining what can and cannot be sold, how products must be inspected, and who can purchase them.

“I’ve put everything into this over the last eight and a half years or so,” Spang said. “To know that that can just be, the rug can be pulled out from underneath me at any given moment is stressful.”

Spang, who said he was born and raised in Myrtle Beach, said the legislative outcome could determine whether he remains in South Carolina.

“It would pain me deeply to move away from my home state,” Spang said. “But at the end of the day if legislation is passed or enforcement is done in a way that doesn’t reflect current law, it will force me to close.”

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