The last month has seen a lot of support for cannabis legalization. This time, it’s on the Republican side of the aisle and it’s heavy. South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace has been a proponent for cannabis for some time. Last week, her lobbying called out the Republican party at the South Carolina Statehouse with a bid for medical marijuana in the state.
On the 25th she met with Republican leaders and Governor Henry McMaster to speak in support of fellow Senator Tom Davis’s Compassionate Care Act. The Act, in summarised form, “would create a well-regulated medical cannabis program to allow seriously ill individuals to use and safely access medical cannabis when recommended by their physicians. Thirty-six states – including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana – give their residents this medical freedom.”
If you didn’t know, South Carolina remains one of the states with no medical cannabis laws. Now you know, Mace and a few others are doing everything they can to change that. The Compassionate Care Act is a seven-year effort to sidestep the federal barriers for qualified medical patients. The same day, she also introduced her own federal legalization bill. According to Mace, this issue is bigger than Red vs. Blue; this is about what’s good for everyone in need.
“There’s a million reasons to end federal prohibition and the only place where this conservative is up here. It’s an enormously popular idea. America is like: WTF, D.C., why have you not done this yet?”
Growing Support for The Compassionate Care Act
Additionally, Amazon endorsed Mace and her bill after the company voiced its support for federal cannabis legalization and an end to prohibition. If that wasn’t enough support, Charles Koch, Conservative leader and conglomerate CEO, also stands behind her.
“We’re pleased to endorse @RepNancyMace’s States Reform Act. Like so many in this country, we believe it’s time to reform the nation’s cannabis policy and Amazon is committed to helping lead the effort.”
-Amazon’s public policy team tweeted
“It should be the individual’s choice. [Prohibition] is counterproductive. It ruins people’s lives, creates conflict in society and is anti-progress. The whole thing never made sense to me.”
–Charles Koch on Why Cannabis Should Be Legal
Discussions were set to continue on the 26th with opponents planning to counterprotest both bids. The state Republican party stood by with the same opposition, stating “it could not support legislation that would violate federal law or the state party platform, which includes a provision to “oppose any effort to legalize the use of controlled substances.”
Regardless of other South Carolina Republicans, there’s growing admiration for Nancy Mace on social media. There is a lack of support on the red side so much that any is welcomed with open arms. Hopefully, her passion can inspire more than businessmen and reach her peers in Congress.
“There are three things that really bring people together — animals, Britney Spears and cannabis,” Mace told Forbes in an interview. “Those are the three things I’ve found that have struck a chord with the American people and that can bring people together at the dinner table — just like apple pie.”
You can’t help but agree with Mace in the opinion that anyone who opposes medical marijuana simply doesn’t understand it.
