Sen. Lindsey Graham ‘open to’ medicinal marijuana as cannabis bill heads to senate

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham touched down in the Lowcountry Friday after making some big headlines Thursday.

The senator said he will not support President Biden’s supreme court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson. On Friday, however, he says he could be supportive of something else.

Graham’s ‘no’ to the confirmation comes as he’s potentially saying ‘yes’ to medicinal marijuana. It’s a big day for supporters of the cannabis decriminalization bill as it passes in the house and now heads off to Graham and the rest of the senate.

“Medical marijuana, I’ve heard from many people in our state, seems to have some value,” Graham said. “If you can show me, and I think there’s evidence that it is helpful, then the medical marijuana idea I’d be open to.”

The cannabis bill that passed in the house Friday looks to federally decriminalize marijuana, something Graham says he’s ultimately not supportive of, especially amid a raging opioid crisis.

“One thing we’ve got to realize, opioids help with pain, but they create a lot of addiction,” Graham said. “There’s no easy answer here, but in terms of legalizing marijuana, no. I think it brings a lot of problems with it. In terms of allowing marijuana in controlled environments in the hands of doctors, that could be something I could support.”

As the bill passed in the house on Friday, it’s now on its way to the Senate where it will likely face an uphill battle, as a similar bill failed in the Senate before making it to a final vote.

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