South Dakota Senate Bill Addresses Cannabis For PTSD Treatment

The South Dakota House of Representatives Health and Human Services Committee approved a Senate bill that would add post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the list of ailments for which providers could prescribe medical marijuana (MMJ).

What’s In It?

Bill 1, which passed in an 8 to 5 vote, would allow the state Department of Health to remove a requirement over how the department chooses whether a medical condition qualifies for treatment with cannabis. Additionally, it would allow the legislature to decide on diagnoses of MMJ use, per a local news outlet. The measure was sent to the House for final consideration.

If the legislation is enacted, it would amend the law to include additional debilitating medical conditions for medical cannabis use, such as diagnosis of cancer and seizure disorders, to name a few. 

Senator Erin Tobin (R), who is also a nurse practitioner, recently said the legislation would help guide healthcare workers to continue educating themselves on medical cannabis. “SB 1 [that is on its way to the House] really helps clear that up, because we’re really good at diagnosing people (...) Once we have a diagnosis, I think it will make it easier, then, to say, ‘yes, you need a medical marijuana card."

The interim cannabis study group, that proposed the legislation, "did not look at the science enough to consider cannabis as a treatment for PTSD," said Rep. Fred Deutsch (R).

In related news, two measures (GOP-led HB 1172 and 1129) seeking to strike down South Dakota's 'pop-up clinics' for medicinal cannabis were recently killed by members of the Senate committee. Sponsored by Rep. Deutsch, the two bills would have banned ads for medical cannabis that would guarantee a card and telehealth appointments or financial incentives to make an appointment.

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