BY IAN TITUS

 

“Q“ is in his early 20s and grew up in an affluent family. He has a job, graduated with a degree, and loves Charleston for its weather, women and beaches. Q also provides a service that forces him to travel frequently, use multiple phones and constantly keep and eye over his shoulder. The product he sells is illegal, the amount he moves is felony worthy and the risk of robbery forces him to sleep with a semi-automatic 12-gauge. But Q loves every moment of it, and he doesn’t intend on stopping.

      Q sells pot. He’s making a lot of money and seems to be living the good life. But one thought stops Q in his tracks. What happens if South Carolina legalizes medical marijuana? “Unfortunate,” he replies. “I’d be out of a job that pays well. So I would definitely be against legalization of medical marijuana,”

      Q thinks for a moment. “On the other hand,” he says. “I wouldn’t mind if the bill passed that made it a fine for people to have less than an ounce on them. Saves everyone headaches, and I could still sell.” 

      He's not alone in his conflicting thoughts about legalizing pots. They're shared by many, including politicians and police officers. Two bills introduced in South Carolina, the Put Patients First Act and House Bill 3117, could legalize medical marijuana.

      The Put Patients First Act aims to help people with severe ailments gain access to marijuana by allowing them to cultivate a limited number of plants, according to the South Carolina state government website. The bill would also begin to create a system that would allow for registered medical marijuana dispensaries.

      House Bill 3117 would make it a fine instead of a criminal misdemeanor for anyone in the state to be in possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. It would be a major leap for marijuana advocates, especially since the South is a region in the United States with severe penalties for possession of marijuana.

      While many see the issue of marijuana legalization as black and white, the complexity of the process of legalization and its possible ramifications have made it an issue without an easy solution. Some politicians want to legalize while others don’t. Some police find the drug war is a waste of time and resources while others stand behind the fight against drugs like marijuana. And drug dealers like Q are some of the biggest advocates for keeping pot illegal even though more lenient laws could help them and their customers. The players are numerous and the pieces are moving as advocates and opponents begin to voice their opinions.

      Florie Willoch, a mother of three, struggles with the idea of pot becoming readily available in South Carolina. “I have kids growing up here, and I think that legalizing it would just make it easier for them to get their hands on it. I don’t want my children smoking.” However, Florie agrees with Q’s later sentiment. “I do think that they should stop throwing the book at kids, and a law that would treat people less like criminals would be good,” she says. “That way, God forbid, if my children were ever in a situation where they had pot, they wouldn’t be arrested and thrown in jail.”

      Willoch poses a good point that many opponents to straight legalization are concerned about. If marijuana is legalized in Charleston, what’s to stop patients from taking money from younger kids and giving them access to their medical prescriptions?

      Not everyone thinks that medical marijuana prohibition is a good idea, and some of the people for complete legalization might surprise the average person. South Carolina representative Mike Pitts, a former law enforcement officer, is the man behind House Bill 3117, which would decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. “I never once had to fight a pothead," he told WSPA TV 7. "I never once had to chase a pothead. They just did not create problems. The only problems they created were for themselves.”