South Dakota’s attorney general says the Trump administration’s move to reschedule medical marijuana will have little effect on the state’s medical cannabis program, concluding that federal rules provide a pathway for state-licensed businesses to continue operating with the necessary registrations.
The opinion, published on Tuesday by Attorney General Marty Jackley (R), comes as officials in states across the U.S. work to understand the implications of the major shift in federal marijuana policy—and after some South Dakota lawmakers sought to repeal the state’s medical cannabis program in light of federal rescheduling.
“Because current Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrative rules permit state medical-marijuana facilities to continue operating with proper federal and state registration, the federal rescheduling of marijuana will likely have a negligible impact on South Dakota’s medical-marijuana program,” the attorney general wrote.
“The federal rescheduling of marijuana does not preempt South Dakota’s medical-marijuana program because Congress has not expressly preempted state action, it has not totally occupied the field of marijuana regulation, and South Dakota’s medical-marijuana law does not conflict with the federal scheduling,” he said. “In fact, under DEA’s April 2026 rule, an existing manufacturer, distributor, or dispensary operating under a valid state license may now do so in compliance
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