On January 14th the South Carolina Senate referred S839 a bill legalizing industrial hemp within Palmetto State borders to the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. (learn about it here) It will need to pass by majority vote before the full Senate can consider it.

YOUR ACTION IS NEEDED NOW.  It doesn’t matter where in South Carolina you live, take these actions today.

1. Call the Committee Chair, Nelson Hardwick.  Strongly, but respectfully urge him to move this important bipartisan bill forward to a vote in his committee.  A phone call has 10x the impact of an email.

(803) 734-3022

2.  Call the rest of the committee members.  Again, be strong, but respectful. Urge each of them to take action to move the bill forward and vote YES on S839.  If they do not commit to a YES vote, ask them why.  If they’re undecided, let them know you’ll call back in a few days.

Nelson L. Hardwick, Chairman (803) 734-3022
David R. Hiott, 1st V.C. (803) 734-3323
V. Stephen “Steve” Moss, 2nd V.C. (803) 212-6885
Ted M. Vick, Secy. (803) 734-2999
William M. “Bill” Chumley (803) 212-6894
Heather Ammons Crawford (803) 212-6933
William E. “Bill” Crosby (803) 212-6879
Chandra E. Dillard (803) 212-6791
Kirkman Finlay, III (803) 212-6943
J. Wayne George (803) 212-6936
Stephen Goldfinch, Jr. (803) 212-6927
Kevin Hardee (803) 212-6796
William M. “Bill” Hixon (803) 212-6898
Kenneth F. Hodges (803) 734-3062
Patsy G. Knight (803) 734-2960
Mandy Powers Norrell (803) 212-6937
R. Shannon Riley (803) 212-6939
Edward L. Southard (803) 212-6930

 3.  Call Back – any NO or UNDECIDED – in 3-4 days.  Ask if they’ve had a chance to review the legislation and what their opposition might be.  Comment below or contact us with any information you receive.

4. SHARE this information widely. By facebook, twitter, email, and more.

5.  Write a letter to the editor Look up your local newspaper and submit a letter to the editor voicing your support for S839. Following strong legal principles, it’s essential that South Carolina no longer help the federal government enforce its ban on industrial hemp production. Passing S839 will make that happen.

6. Report Back. Tell us how your actions went. Click the button below

William Kennedy