More than 11,500 people have medical marijuana cards in South Dakota — double what the state expected

“We have doubled our projected revenue in three years by two years.”

By Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight

Two years after South Dakota legalized medical cannabis, more than 11,500 South Dakotans have medical marijuana cards.

Jennifer Seale is the administrator of the medical cannabis program at the Department of Health. South Dakotans approved medical marijuana in 2010 and the state issued cards in November of 2021.

Seale, who spoke to the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee on Monday in Pierre, said that the state originally expected 6,000 cardholders. The committee is composed of state legislators and others who are appointed to review and improve the medical marijuana program.

Seale stated that “we’ve more than doubled what we projected to see within three years in just two years.”

She said that South Dakotans most commonly cite cancer, chronic pain and seizures. They also cite multiple sclerosis, severe muscle spasms, and multiple sclerosis.

In Fiscal Year 2023, the revenue from the medical marijuana program was largely made up of new cards. This amounted to $1.37million. Seale warned that this revenue stream will be uncertain once the number medical marijuana cards reaches “a saturation point” or reaches its plateau.

Presenters told the committee that controversial pop-up clinics were one of the primary ways South Dakotans obtain medical marijuana cards. At a previous meeting of the committee in October 2022 pop-up clinics had been highlighted as a major problem. This led to several bills being defeated, including one which would have restricted medical marijuana clinics only to certain facilities.

Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence, introduced the bills in the 2023 session of the legislature which ended on March. On Monday, he recounted his experience obtaining a medical marijuana card in April, citing a lack of confidentiality because he could hear conversations between patients and the provider, and poor provider-patient relationship-building when he sat for his appointment. The appointment wasn’t with Deutsch’s regular doctor, but a nurse-practitioner he had never met before.

Deutsch said that the appointment did not include an examination to determine if he required the card. He added that the appointment lasted for less than 10 minute.

The committee intends to revisit the issue, either through legislation or by making recommendations to the Legislature.

Some ideas include prohibiting people who are invested in the marijuana business from opening pop-up clinics; requiring medical education for card issuers and capping the amount of cards that can be issued in a single day.

Pop-up clinics may charge more for an appointment, even though the medical marijuana card costs $75. Deutsch claimed to have paid around $170 for the appointment.

There is currently no limit on the number cards that a provider may issue. This change will remove “monetary incentives” for pop-up clinics to be operated, according to Sen. Erin Tobin of the Republican Party in Winner who chairs this committee.

Tobin added, “It’s not about the big check they get at the end of their day.”

The committee also discussed other topics, such as parolees being permitted to use medical marijuana while other drugs like alcohol are not allowed. Several members of the committee felt that this circumvents court’s intent to prevent parolees from consuming alcohol or drugs. At its next meeting, the committee will discuss pop-up clinics as well as other issues.

This article was originally published in South Dakota Searchlight.

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The post In South Dakota, More Than 11,500 People Hold Medical Marijuana Card–Double what the State Expected first appeared on Marijuana Moment.