South Dakota’s medical marijuana program narrowly survived a legislative challenge that would have essentially rolled back the voter-approved system, according to South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Travis Ismay of Newell, a Republican, failed on a 7-6 vote in the House Health and Human Services Committee after seeing strong opposition from medical cannabis advocates and criminal justice experts, the outlet reported.
Ismay argued the current medical program essentially amounts to de facto legalization, telling committee members, “We need to know the difference between medical and recreational marijuana.”
The establishment of a legal cannabis industry in the state hasn’t been smooth. While voters approved both medical and recreational marijuana in 2020, with the medical measure passing with nearly 70% support, the recreational initiative was overturned by the state Supreme Court on technical grounds. Subsequent recreational legalization measures failed at the ballot box in 2022 and 2024.
Additionally, South Dakota’s operators saw a nearly 70% permit renewal fee hike – to $9,000 – under a senate measure Gov. Kristi Noem signed into law last year.
Terra Larson, of the South Dakota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, warned committee members about potential impacts on the state’s prison system.
“There’s been extensive discussion about when this new prison is built, it’s going to be 90% full,” Larson said, according to SDPB. “If we add theoretically 11,000 new felons, where are we going to put them?”
Medical marijuana advocates also challenged claims made by the bill’s supporters, including an assertion that state law requires every community to host a dispensary. The current law only requires communities to be willing to offer licenses without mandating dispensary presence, SDPB reported.
Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, a Sioux Falls Republican who moved to kill the bill, cited voter mandate in her opposition.
“This is just too extreme,” Rehfeldt said, suggesting concerned lawmakers work through the state’s IM 26 oversight committee, which has previously implemented program modifications.
A Republican-led effort to substantially restrict the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana program failed in committee. Read More
