Over 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain each year, and millions of others suffer from chronic mental illnesses. Specifically, people are suffering from illnesses such as anxiety, cancer, crohn’s disease/IBD, depression, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, lou gehrig’s disease, multiple sclerosis, parkinson's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, and opioid addiction. These types of health issues are not only severely debilitating, but they steal a sense of control from your life. For those living with chronic illnesses, losing control of your fate is a very real possibility that should be heavily considered. Research polls in South Carolina show that our citizens are not receiving proper treatment for their chronic pain. Instead, they are treated in 'standard' ways that do not reflect the patient's specific needs, desires, or goals. Similar polls also show that 72% of polled South Carolinians support medical marijuana legalization, including 63% of Republicans.

Rather than using opioids or intense psychiatric medication that often lead to a series of complications, South Carolina has the opportunity to provide medical marijuana to its residents. 30 out of 50 U.S. states, or 60%, have adopted new laws to legalize medical marijuana due to the side effects produced by current treatment methods. Because over half of the U.S. population supports medical marijuana, more research is being developed to provide the most effective, affordable, and evidenced-based treatments to patients. Although tremendous strides have been made in the acceptance and advancement of medical marijuana, our momentum needs to stay consistent in order to create and maintain these positive changes. By passing South Carolina's Compassionate Care Act, we can demonstrate a commitment to patient health and a commitment to our state's political values. This bill states that "marijuana can’t be sold or smoked in leaf form, but can only be used in forms such as vaporized oil, gel caps, suppositories, patches or topical creams." In addition, marijuana would have to be prescribed by a doctor in a “bona fide” relationship with a patient with a “debilitating medical condition" such as those mentioned above. 

As a mental health professional, I support this bill because it seeks to end pain, not lives. Its restrictive characteristics reinforce the idea that medicinal marijuana is not an entrance strategy for recreational use, but a legitimate medical tool that can alleviate pain, financial burden, and chronic mental stress for millions of people.