Tightened restrictions on where South Dakota’s registered patients can use medical cannabis were defeated March 7 when the state Senate rejected House Bill 1134, which was aimed at protecting children, according to a KELO report.
Sen. Jim Stalzer, a Republican from Sioux Falls, spoke in support of the legislation on Monday, the news outlet reported. Stalzer said the bill would amend IM 26, South Dakota’s voter-approved medical cannabis legalization measure, to restrict the use of cannabis in preschools, on public and non-public school property, and in any outdoor recreational areas.
Opponents of the legislation said the added restrictions are unnecessary, and some expressed concerns that the bill would take authority away from the Department of Education to put rules in place on the use of medical cannabis in schools, KELO reported. Others worried that the legislation would allow individual schools to ban the use of medical cannabis entirely.
H.B. 1134 failed with 12 voting to pass the bill and 20 voting in opposition, KELO reported.
South Dakota voters approved medical cannabis legalization in the November 2020 election, and after spending several months drafting rules to govern the program, the state began accepting applications for medical cannabis cards in November 2021.
The South Dakota Department of Health has issued its first medical cannabis cultivation and dispensary licenses, although no manufacturers or testing labs have been licensed yet, according to the department’s website.
