South Dakota lawmakers have rejected a pair of bills that would have ended the state’s medical marijuana program if the plant is federally rescheduled and to set strict THC potency caps on cannabis products for patients.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday took up both measures from Sen. John Carley (R), rejecting the medical marijuana repeal bill in a 7-0 vote and the potency proposal in a 6-1 vote.
Under the first bill, South Dakota’s voter-approved medical cannabis program would have been eliminated 90 days after the federal government finalized the rescheduling of marijuana under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA)—a policy change that’s actively in the works, as President Donald Trump in December ordered that process to be expeditiously completed.
“Rescheduling cannabis from Schedule l to Schedule lll does not make medical cannabis accessible nationwide,” the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) said in an action alert ahead of the vote. “It is cruel and cynical to marry the two issues and eliminate a program 70 percent of voters enacted, just as federal law recognizes the efficacy of medical cannabis.”
“If SB 181 passed, South Dakota’s medical cannabis program would strip legal protections and safe access from 18,000 patients,”
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