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

Section 54-72, adopted by Ord. No. 96-26 on August 19, 1996, splits its drug and alcohol rules into separate subsections. Subsection (b) is a stand-alone, unqualified ban: it is unlawful to use or possess any illegal drugs in any park, playground, or on any county property, with no exception written into the text. Because South Carolina classifies marijuana as a controlled substance and does not authorize recreational possession, marijuana use or possession on county park land or other county property falls within this prohibition. Subsection (c), by contrast, addresses public display or consumption of illegal drugs, beer or wine from an unsealed container on streets, sidewalks, parking areas or public gathering places, showing the county drew separate lines between simple possession/use on county property and open display in public rights-of-way.

Subsection (a) additionally incorporates the state's alcoholic beverage statutes, S.C. Code 1976 §§ 61-3-10 through 61-9-1260, into the county code, underscoring that the county enforces both its own park-property rule and applicable state drug law side by side. The rule is codified in Chapter 54's parks and public-places article, the same article that sets park hours in § 54-70 and bars property damage in § 54-71, giving the sheriff's office one ordinance covering conduct across county parks, playgrounds and other county-owned property.