First State-Licensed Medical Dispensary Set to Open in South Dakota

More than a year has passed since the new South Dakota Medical Cannabis Act was officially enforced, but there are still no state-approved clinics to serve patients.

It will change soon.

Next week, Unity Rd. Opening its doors to Hartford, South Dakota (around 3,300 towns just outside Sioux Falls, the state’s largest city), it makes history as the first state-approved medical cannabis pharmacy in Mount Rushmore.

UnityRd. BJ Olson, one of the co-owners of the company, said: Said Argus Leader newspaper.. “It won’t happen unless you step into the gas from the beginning.”

“We bought real estate and started building without paper. In the worst case we decided to build a beautiful structure to rent to someone. In the best case we were the first It will be a clinic, “says another co-owner, Adam Jorgenson.

according to Argus Leader“UnityRd. Is a franchise and has shops in Oklahoma and Colorado.”

South Dakota voters have overwhelmingly approved the 2020 voting bill to legalize medical cannabis treatment in the state.

The law officially came into effect on July 1, 2021, long before the state began issuing dispensing pharmacy licenses. However, members of the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe opened a clinic shortly after its official start date last summer, creating tension between the tribe and the state.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and other state officials say they do not recognize medical cannabis cards issued to individuals who are not members of the tribe.

The Argus Leader As of February, “Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe [had] We issued approximately 8,000 medical marijuana cards to tribal and non-tribal members. Others, such as the Flemish Police Station, do not respect medical cards issued by tribes. “

The tribe said at the time, more than 100 people who were issued a tribe’s medical cannabis card had been arrested since the clinic opened in July last year.

According to Unity Road, “we offer many products, including flowers, arc cartridges, topical, preroll, and edible products.” Argus LeaderInitially, “Only flowers will be sold, but companies will add more products in the coming weeks.”

The state’s medical cannabis law is lagging behind. As of April, only 400 patients were enrolled in the program, but only 90 physicians across the state were able to approve the use of medical cannabis in their patients.

South Dakota voters also approved an amendment to legalize entertainment cannabis in 2020, but the law was eventually overturned by the State Supreme Court after a legal challenge by Republican Governor Kristi Noem. it was done.

Nome, a 2022 Republican presidential candidate, celebrated the ruling.

“South Dakota is where the rule of law and our constitution are important, and that’s about today’s decision,” Nome said at the time. “We do things right, and how we do things is just as important as what we are doing. We are still governed by the rule of law. This decision Does not affect the implementation of my administration of voters of the medical cannabis program approved in 2020. The program started earlier this month and the first card is already in eligible South Dakota. “

South Dakota plans to make another shot this fall to legalize recreational cannabis, but there are new steps that will be covered by the November ballot.