South Carolina hemp and CBD retailers, including Sunmed franchise owners across the state, are sounding the alarm that H.3924—currently advancing through the state legislature—would effectively eliminate the state's wellness‑based hemp and CBD industry.
The companies said the bill would impose medically unnecessary packaging limits, cost‑prohibitive licensing mandates, and scientifically unsound definitions that together create what retailers describe as a "state‑sanctioned monopoly" for liquor stores.
Under H.3924, hemp and CBD edibles could only be sold in packages containing no more than four chewables. Retailers warn this single provision would make daily‑use wellness products impossible to sell. A four‑pack limit would force consumers to purchase seven or eight separate packages to obtain a month's supply. They also warned that by restricting low‑dose daily products, the bill unintentionally incentivizes the sale of higher‑potency intoxicating items.
Sunmed retailers said they endorse licensing regulations, but warned that H.3924 requires hemp and CBD retailers to obtain a beer and wine or alcoholic liquor license. Alcohol licensing carries high fees, insurance costs, and compliance burdens, while many hemp and CBD stores operate in family‑oriented shopping centers with lease restrictions that prohibit alcohol sales.
"H.3924 is not a regulation Bill—it's a Retail Liquidation Act," said representatives of South Carolina hemp and CBD retailers. "It disregards the federal framework established by the Federal 2018 Farm Bill and sacrifices hundreds of small businesses in favor of a consolidated liquor lobby."
