Initiated Measure 26 that legalizes medicinal marijuana in the state will become law on July 1 after legislators failed to come up with a compromise for House Bill 1100.
However, concerns still remain about the number of cannabis plants patients can grow, and Gov. Kristi Noem has not yet ruled out the possibility of a special session to address the voter-approved ballot measure.
IM 26 legalizes the medical use of marijuana for qualifying patients, which can include minors who have parental approval. IM 26 also legalizes the sale, delivery, manufacturing, testing, and cultivation of marijuana for medical use. A patient with a debilitating medical condition, such as seizures, cancer, or chronic pain, must be certified by a “bona fide medical practitioner” that they already have an established relationship with in order to get a recommendation.
Once certified, a patient must apply for a registration card from the Department of Health, which will allow them to purchase and possess up to three ounces of marijuana and additional marijuana products. If a cardholder is allowed to grow plants, they must have a minimum of three.
While IM 26 goes into effect July 1 of this year, the DOH has 140 days after that point to issue registry identification cards to qualifying patients. The DOH has 120 days after July 1 to establish a secure web- or phone-based verification system to allow law enforcement and medical cannabis establishments to check the validity of registration cards, and 120 days after July 1 to promulgate rules pertaining to legalization.
Last Thursday, Noem said she had several concerns around IM 26 and was disappointed legislators could not come to an agreement on HB 1100, which would have modified provisions for medical legalization and pushed back implementation of the medical program.
Noem’s main concerns are the lack of limits on homegrown marijuana plants and children’s access to marijuana produced by those plants.
“I hope everybody understands that under that initiated measure that people can grow as many plants as they want to at home, they just need a prescription from a doctor and they could grow 500-1,000 plants if they wanted to. Kids of all ages will have access to marijuana and will have the ability to utilize those homegrown products as well, so that’s my concern,” Noem said at a recent press conference.
Melissa Mentele, executive director of New Approach South Dakota and an author of IM 26, said that although IM 26 does not specify a number of plants, advocates for medical marijuana anticipate patients only growing three to five plants. An experienced cultivator could yield three ounces of marijuana from a cannabis plant, but Mentele said realistically, a new grower will have more failures than successes at first.
“We see patients as responsible consumers. Nobody is going to grow 500-1,000 plants, we all have to live in our homes and have furniture,” she told the Journal. “And there’s a learning curve with growing; you can’t just pop a plant into a pot and expect magical results, you have to tend to them.”
Senate Majority Leader Gary Cammack, R-Union Center, has said he had “serious concerns” about the IM 26 implementation and that there is not enough control over the product to protect children.
Mentele said…
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