South Carolina Woman Charged with Marijuana Trafficking After NC Traffic Stop

A Rockingham County deputy's roadside stop in North Carolina led to a felony marijuana trafficking charge against a South Carolina driver, highlighting the legal risk cannabis users from non-legal sta

FILE — seized cannabis · U.S. CBP / public domain

A South Carolina woman was arrested and jailed in North Carolina this week after a sheriff's deputy stopped her vehicle for traffic violations and allegedly found a trafficking amount of marijuana, according to WXLV.

The Stop

The arrest happened Oct. 2, 2026, when Rockingham County Sheriff's Office Deputy A. Pulliam pulled over a vehicle in the 4700 block of Highway 704 in Madison, North Carolina, during routine patrol, WXLV reported, citing authorities.

The driver, identified as 31-year-old Halimotou Ndiaye of South Carolina, was found with what deputies described as a trafficking amount of marijuana, according to the outlet. She was charged with felony possession with intent to sell and distribute marijuana, along with unspecified traffic violations, WXLV reported.

Ndiaye was booked at the Rockingham County Magistrate's Office, issued a $1,000 secured bond, and given a court date of Oct. 15, 2026, before being placed in the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office Detention Facility, according to the report.

Why South Carolina Context Matters

The case underscores the legal exposure drivers face when moving between states with differing cannabis laws. South Carolina has no legal recreational marijuana market and, according to the Post and Courier, has taken a "lukewarm posture" toward legalization generally, with medical marijuana efforts repeatedly stalling in the Statehouse.

The Post and Courier reported that a 1980 state law — the Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Act — could theoretically be triggered by the federal government's move to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, a shift announced in April by the Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration. That law would direct the state's Department of Public Health to obtain marijuana for a limited research program covering patients such as those undergoing cancer chemotherapy or being treated for glaucoma, the outlet reported.

However, the Post and Courier also reported that the law provides no clear operational framework, and state Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, has said the General Assembly needs to pass his South Carolina Compassionate Care Act to establish actual rules for cultivation, processing and dispensing. That bill has passed the Senate multiple times but has repeatedly failed in the House, according to the outlet, and Davis did not file a medical marijuana bill in the current session.

Database Context

State licensing records maintained in our database show no active cannabis business licenses tied to this case, consistent with South Carolina's lack of a legal medical or recreational cannabis market; no state sales or license statistics exist for the state as a result.

Related coverage in our database includes reporting from SC Daily Gazette that state law enforcement officials have urged legislators to reject legalization of THC hemp products, and reporting from CBS News that THC testing has contributed to more than 1,000 South Carolina mothers being placed on child abuse registries — both signs of the state's broader restrictive posture toward cannabis-related substances.

What to Watch

It remains unclear, based on available reporting, whether Ndiaye's case has any connection to South Carolina's unresolved medical marijuana debate or the pending question of whether the 1980 research-program law will be implemented. The Post and Courier noted that, as of its reporting, no one was certain what practical changes the federal rescheduling decision would produce in South Carolina. Court proceedings for Ndiaye are scheduled for Oct. 15, 2026, in North Carolina, where marijuana possession and trafficking remain criminal offenses regardless of the laws of a driver's home state.