South Dakota House Votes To Ban Medical Marijuana 'Pop-Up' Clinics: GOP-Led Push To Curb State Law

South Dakota lawmakers advanced two GOP-led medical marijuana measures this week.

HB 1129 from Rep. Fred Deutsch, which seeks to regulate medical marijuana ‘pop-up clinics,” passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon, reported Keloland.

The measure is seeking to ban advertisements for medical cannabis that would guarantee a card, as well as offer telehealth appointments or financial incentives to make an appointment.

“Pop-up clinics,” Deutsch said to the House members, “are a creation of the marijuana industry. They weren’t part of the initiated measure. They’re not currently part of the law. Doctors are hired by pop-up clinics and, in some cases, flown into South Dakota.”

Under the bill, those distributing advertisements would not be allowed to certify medical cannabis cards for up to six months.

Another piece of legislation from Deutsch - HB 1154 – passed the House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday, reported Argus Leader.

That measure seeks to establish a rule under which medical marijuana assessments would be legal only if conducted in a “licensed health care facility,” such as brick-and-mortar clinics and hospitals.

Those opposing the push stressed that the bill would lead to more people turning to the illicit market for cannabis.

South Dakota was the first state in the country to simultaneously legalize medical and recreational marijuana during the 2020 elections. Some 20 months after, the state’s medical marijuana market officially launched.

Last November, South Dakota failed to pass a Senate 3 bill that would have legalized adult-use cannabis. 

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