Prohibitionist Group Fights to Criminalize South Dakotans Struggling With Severe Health Conditions

Senate Bill 1 passed both chambers of the South Dakota Legislature and now sits on Governor Noem’s desk. SB 1 will expand the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis by adding cancer, epilepsy, MS, ALS, PTSD, Crohn’s disease, AIDS, and HIV.

Dakota News Now covered the Legislature’s passage of SB 1. We encourage you to check out this TV story!

The story reveals that Protecting SD Kids, the states leading anti-cannabis group, urged Governor Noem to veto SB 1. The story featured Protecting South Dakota Kids lobbyist Mary Weinheimer who stated, “I think if you expand it out too far, you have unregulated medical marijuana and that is basically recreational marijuana.”

Senate Bill 1 adds clear medical diagnoses to the list of qualifying conditions for a medical cannabis patient card in South Dakota – a state with a regulated medical marijuana program. Weinheimer’s statement makes it clear that our opposition is (1): grasping at straws (2): undermining the 291,754 South Dakota voters who approved IM 26 in 2020 (3): and believes anyone suffering from cancer, epilepsy, MS, ALS, PTSD, Crohn’s disease, AIDS, and HIV should be criminalized for using medical marijuana as part of their treatment.

Also appearing in the story was Matt Schweich, executive director for SDBML.

“It is important to recognize that what we are doing is giving doctors the ability to make recommendations for medical cannabis,” Said Schweich. “We already give doctors this ability on a host of drugs that are far more dangerous.”

South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws disagrees with Protecting SD Kids’ position on recreational cannabis legalization. But we are disgusted with their attempt to keep medicine out of the hands of those who need it most.

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