Horry County, SC Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

Section 5-14, part of Chapter 5's beach ordinance rewritten by Ord. No. 27-11 in 2011, targets impaired conduct on the water and sand in three linked subsections. Subsection (a) bars reckless or negligent operation of a motorboat, jet-ski, or other vessel, or reckless use of skis or a surfboard, that endangers life, limb, or property. Subsection (b) separately bars operating those same vessels or devices when intoxicated or under the influence of any narcotic drug, barbiturate or marijuana. Subsection (c) extends that same list of intoxicants beyond watercraft to conduct on foot: no person shall engage in any aquatic activity or activities on the beach or public access while intoxicated or under the influence of any narcotic drug, barbiturate or marijuana, nor shall any person engage in reckless behavior or negligent manner so as to endanger the life, limb or property of any person while in the water, on the beach or on a public access.

Because aquatic activity is defined broadly in Sec. 5-1 to include swimming, surfing, kite-boarding, wind-surfing, and operating a wind- or motor-propelled vessel, subsection (c) reaches most of what a beachgoer actually does in and around the water, not just boating. The ordinance does not separately criminalize simply possessing or smoking marijuana while sitting on a towel; it is written around impairment during an activity that could endanger the impaired person or others, the same structure South Carolina uses for its boating-under-the-influence statute. Enforcement runs through the same Chapter 5 penalty framework as the rest of the beach ordinance.