South Carolina cannabis licensing, facility design and equipment.
South Carolina medical cannabis is not legal: no medical or adult use program exists as of Nov. 2026, and no agency issues a cannabis license. The Compassionate Care Act (S 53) has sat in Senate Medical Affairs since Jan. 14, 2025, after the Senate passed versions in 2022 and 2024. What exists is Julian's Law CBD and SCDA hemp permits.
No SC cannabis license as of Nov. 8, 2026; S 53 Compassionate Care Act in Senate committee since Jan. 14, 2025
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Where South Carolina is today
South Carolina issues no cannabis business license. The Compassionate Care Act (S 53) would license 15 cultivation centers and 30 processors under the Department of Public Health, but has not left Senate Medical Affairs since Jan. 14, 2025; the Senate passed earlier versions in 2022 and on Feb. 14, 2024, and the House let both die. The only licenses an operator can hold today come from the SCDA Hemp Farming Program.
The 2026 session fought over hemp THC instead: H 4759 (5 mg beverages, Department of Revenue licensing) was recommitted Feb. 4, 2026, and H 3924 passed the Senate 30 to 13 on March 24, 2026 but died when the House rejected the conference report 28 to 69 on June 25, 2026. Compare cannabis licensing in every state.
- March 28, 2019. Act No. 14 amends the Hemp Farming Act (S.C. Code 46-55-10); SCDA permits growers, processors and handlers at the 0.3% delta-9 THC standard.
- 2022. Senate passes the Compassionate Care Act (S 150); the House kills it on a procedural ruling without a vote.
- Feb. 14, 2024. Senate gives final approval to S 423; it dies in the House.
- Jan. 14, 2025. S 53 introduced and referred to Senate Medical Affairs, where it still sits.
- March 19, 2026. Senate gives the amended H 3924 hemp beverage and gummy bill second reading 35 to 4 and passes it 30 to 13 on March 24; H 4759 sits in House Judiciary after its Feb. 4 recommittal.
- June 25, 2026. The House rejects the H 3924 conference report 28 to 69 the same day the Senate adopts it 27 to 11; the bill does not become law.
- January 2027. SCDA opens the next hemp farming permit window; the 2027 session is the next chance for a refiled Compassionate Care Act.
How to get a South Carolina cannabis license
- Watch S 53 in Senate Medical Affairs. It needs a committee vote, Senate passage and a House that has killed it twice; a 2027 version would be refiled in a new General Assembly.
- Hold SCDA processor and handler permits now. They are year round, $1,600 in SCDA application and permit fees for a processor site, before the Dealer/Handler and Weighmaster licenses, and put you on SCDA's inspected list before any THC rule lands.
- Build next door. See Virginia for a nearby licensed market.
- Design to the S 53 clock. The bill gives DPH a year for rules, then 30 days to open applications and 6 months to license, so a finished facility design is what gets built first.
- Pick your starting point. Dispensary plans: S 53 dispenses through pharmacies capped at 3 per county, so model a cultivation or processing company with cannabis financial modeling. Cultivation and processing plans: start new license facility planning.
What the state issues, and what each one needs built
- Cannabis: none. No cultivation, processing, dispensary, pharmacy or lab license exists; S 53's 15 cultivation centers and 30 processors are a bill, not a program.
- Hemp farming permit (SCDA). South Carolina residents only, background check, no acreage cap; applications closed, next window January 2027.
- Hemp processor and handler permits (SCDA). Processor: $100 application plus $1,500 permit fee per location, annual, issued after inspection, plus Dealer/Handler and Weighmaster licenses. Handler (storage, transport, lab, seed): $100 application, annual, no retail.
What a South Carolina facility costs to design and build.
If S 53 passes, the program is extract based (no smokable flower), so a cultivation center carries a large processing wing: at $150 to $500+ per sq ft, a 25,000 sq ft grow and extraction building runs $3.75 million to $12.5 million or more. Design takes 30 to 60 days and the build 3 to 6 months after permits, which fits inside the bill's one year rulemaking period.
South Carolina's commercial electricity averaged 11.18 cents per kWh in 2025 against 13.37 cents nationally, per EIA Electric Power Annual, Table 2.10. Lowcountry and Midlands humidity makes dehumidification the HVAC budget driver. No state cannabis siting rule exists; the bill's 3 pharmacies per county cap is the only location rule on file.
South Carolina specifics
Hemp THC testing. SCDA samples permitted hemp against the 0.3% delta-9 THC limit and inspects processors before a permit issues. The 2019 Act sets no mg cap for finished products, no age floor and no delta-8 rule, which is why the 2026 bills exist.
Hemp product limits in the bills. H 4759 (Feb. 4, 2026 text): beverages only, 5 mg THC per 12 oz serving, ISO/IEC 17025 labs, batch COAs for potency, heavy metals, microbials, mycotoxins and pesticides, QR code to the COA, child-resistant packaging, Department of Revenue licenses at $50,000 manufacturer, $20,000 wholesaler, $1,200 retailer. H 3924 as amended: 5 mg per can, 10 mg per serving in 750 mL bottles.
Fire code. Confirm the adopted fire code edition and its plant extraction chapter with the local fire marshal and the SC Building Codes Council before you spec a solvent room.
| Topic | South Carolina rule | Design response |
|---|---|---|
| Hemp processing | SCDA processor permit per location, issued after inspection; Dealer/Handler and Weighmaster licenses required | Ethanol extraction on used Delta Separations systems, laid out from our extraction equipment guide |
| Product testing | H 4759 would require ISO/IEC 17025 labs and batch COAs; SCDA samples hemp at 0.3% delta-9 THC | Inline potency checks with Orange Photonics before each batch ships |
| Solvent rooms | Local fire marshal applies the adopted fire code to extraction | C1D1 room requirements drawn into the MEP set |
| A future program | S 53: 15 cultivation centers, 30 processors, 3 pharmacies per county, 5 labs; infused and extracted products only | Processing heavy facility with Anden dehumidifiers in flower and dry rooms, sized per our cannabis HVAC design guide |
What the same work did for an operator like you
What a South Carolina applicant gets from the design desk.
- A South Carolina cannabis compliance brief tracking S 53, H 4759 and SCDA permit rules
- Cannabis facility design for an extract based program: flower, drying, extraction, formulation and vault
- A cannabis facility design package in 30 to 60 days
- Hemp processing rooms specified from our distillation guide
South Carolina questions
Is medical marijuana legal in South Carolina?
No. South Carolina has no medical cannabis program as of Nov. 2026. The Compassionate Care Act passed the Senate in 2022 and again on Feb. 14, 2024, and the House let it die both times; the current version, S 53, has sat in Senate Medical Affairs since Jan. 14, 2025. The Julian's Law CBD exemption is the only medical carve out.
Can I open a dispensary in South Carolina?
No. No dispensary license exists, and S 53 would not create one: it dispenses through licensed therapeutic cannabis pharmacies, capped at 3 per county, under the Department of Public Health and Board of Pharmacy. For a nearby licensed market, see Virginia.
What would the SC Compassionate Care Act license in 2026?
As filed, S 53 caps the program at 15 cultivation centers, 30 processing facilities, 4 transporters and up to 5 testing labs, plus pharmacies, with a 14 day patient supply of infused and extracted products and no smokable flower. DPH would have one year for rules, then 30 days to open applications and 6 months to issue licenses.
Can I grow hemp in South Carolina?
Yes, with an SCDA hemp farming permit, which requires South Carolina residency and a background check. Applications are closed until January 2027. Processor permits ($100 application, $1,500 permit fee per location) and handler permits ($100) are open year round and run one year from issue; processor permits issue after an SCDA inspection.
Where the South Carolina rules on this page come from
- SC General Assembly: S 53, South Carolina Compassionate Care Act, sponsors and history, referred to Medical Affairs Jan. 14, 2025
- SC General Assembly: H 3924, hemp THC products, Senate passage March 24, 2026, House rejection of the conference report June 25, 2026
- SC General Assembly: H 4759, Intoxicating Hemp Beverages, 5 mg per serving, Department of Revenue fees, ISO 17025 labs, Feb. 4, 2026 recommittal
- SCDA: Hemp Farming Program, S.C. Code 46-55-10, residency and background check
- SCDA: Hemp Applications, farming window closed until January 2027, processor and handler fees and terms
- SCDA: Hemp FAQ, no acreage cap, processor license stack
- EIA Electric Power Annual, Table 2.10 (2025), average commercial electricity price by state
Regulator: No state cannabis regulator; South Carolina Department of Agriculture (hemp permits). Last reviewed November 7, 2026.
Record last reviewed