The A rift between a South Dakota oversight board and the state’s medical marijuana industry It unfolded in Pierre on Tuesday, when the commission passed 11 motions, some of which called for stricter regulations.
The motions were not made public prior to the meeting, and the committee did not take public comment on individual motions. The committee acted on the motions, with four of the 11 members of the group not present.
The intentions of the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee to propose and pass some of the motions were unclear. The motions were not introduced as formal proposals to change the rules or as bills for the legislative session, which begins in January.
The themes of the motions varied widely and included recommendations for stricter regulation of the medical marijuana industry, and intoxicating products sold outside the industry in convenience stores and statements of support or recommendations on smoke shops and other topics.
“I think these are just motions, right?” said Sen. Lauren Nelson, R-Yankton, a committee member. “So some of these motions that passed today may never be heard again. Some of these motions may become bills that one of us, someone else in the Legislature, can carry, and then we can have our debate.”
Medical marijuana industry lobbyist Jeremiah Murphy asked that the minutes reflect that no prior public notice of the motions was given and no public comment was made on the individual motions.
“If you want to just call these ‘motions’, that’s fine,” Murphy said, “But the key is that they’re not considered anything like legislation because they weren’t published beforehand. The bill or resolution has to be published before the hearing.”
The votes ended a combative meeting that was similar in tone to the commission’s previous meeting two weeks ago. That earlier meeting drew industry complaints about a guest speaker list that presented mostly negative views on marijuana.
of the committee membership It consists of four members of parliament and seven non-legislators, including members of the medical, counseling, law enforcement and patient communities. The committee members missing Tuesday were all nonlegislators: Francine Arneson, Kristi Palmer, Andrew Schock and Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum.
At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, the commission took public comments from individuals, each limited to two minutes.
Kittrick Jeffries, of Puffy’s Dispensary in Rapid City, said the panel “was clarifying issues that voters decided five years ago.” South Dakota voters legalized medical marijuana in 2020, and the state implemented the program in 2022. There are 17,137 sick card holders in the state.
“This commission, in my view, has only made it harder for patients to get access to medical cannabis,” Jeffries said.
Emmett Reistroffer, with Genesis Farms Cannabis Company, called the panel a “show committee” and questioned the motivation of Rep. Josephine Garcia, R-Watertown, who said she sponsored unsuccessful legislation earlier this year to repeal the state’s medical marijuana program.
“I don’t think there’s any business running an oversight committee on a program that you publicly opposed in the last legislative session,” Reistroffer said. “Of course you don’t like what I have to say, but I have two minutes. I’m a citizen of the state of South Dakota.”
Because of this, Garcia silenced Reistroffer, but then turned him off.
“You can’t silence a member of the public,” Reistroffer said breaking the silence. The action “further reinforces that it is a show committee.”
Garcia was silent again.
“The reason they gave that knight was for a lot of reasons,” Garcia said. He said they had “things online that were defaming me or what they were doing to me.”
He added: “I think I’ve been fair, more than fair, and it’s just a shame.”
In further public comment, Rep. Travis Ismay, R-Newell, who is not a member of the committee, complained that a state health inspector was seen hugging an industry representative outside the chamber. Ismay was the lead sponsor of the Garcia-sponsored bill to repeal the medical marijuana program, and previously tried to put a repeal initiative on the ballot.
“I don’t think they’re that reliable,” Ismay said of the industry in general.
Health Department Secretary Melissa Magstadt responded that no Health Department inspectors were present at the meeting. Ismay returned to the microphone, saying he “maybe misspoke or something,” claiming that he misidentified the people he saw.
Genesis Farms lobbyist Mitch Richter pointed to a previous board meeting in which Garcia, a physician, said a former patient of his used artificial intelligence to falsify documents to obtain medical marijuana, buy 3 ounces and sell them for $10,000 a week.
Richter said the allegations “do not hold water.”
“If you make $10,000 on 3 ounces of marijuana, I want to talk to you,” said Richter, who also said the commission should be repealed.
Reistroffer told the South Dakota Searchlight that 3 ounces of medical marijuana typically sell for around $600.
Garcia repeatedly defended the commission and himself, saying the panel was still in its oversight mandate and that the actions taken were “just motions.”
“For those who were disrespectful, shame on you,” he said.