Medical Marijuana Patients Would Be Added To Prescription Monitoring Program Under South Dakota Bill

South Dakota’s House of Representatives approved a measure Thursday requiring the names of registered medical marijuana patients to be added to the state's prescription drug monitoring program.

Senate Bill 42, introduced by the chair of the Health and Human Services Department is now heading to Gov. Kristi Noem's desk. The measure provides several smaller amendments, but the only new section considers adding patient names to the drug monitoring program.

Lawmakers also approved Senate Bill 10 in a 48-21 vote sending it back to the Senate for a decision on a change proposed by a House Committee. Sponsored by state Senator Erin Tobin (R) SB 10 requires a notification of medical marijuana certification to be provided to a patient's primary or referring practitioner. The bill also requires that the patient's primary care provider or the referring practitioner should include any notification about medical marijuana certification in the patient's medical file.

Rep. Fred Deutsch (R) tried to include criminalization for failure to provide the notice, but that proposal was rejected in a 25-44 vote, reported Keloland Media Group. 

Democratic Rep. Kadyn Wittman commented on Deutsch's amendments raising concerns about cases when a patient lies about having a primary provider. Rep. Roger DeGroot (R) looked at the list of health conditions that qualify a patient for a medical marijuana card and questioned how it is possible that those individuals don't have a medical provider. Deutcsh said it happens all the time. 

Recent State Cannabis Milestones 

The South Dakota Senate recently advanced a GOP-sponsored cannabis bill that would require parolees and probationers to get additional documents from doctors to become medical marijuana patients. The measure was approved in a 29-4 vote and is heading to a House committee.

The news came shortly after Gov. Noem (R) signed a bill into law that would allow employers in South Dakota to discipline workers who test positive for THC. This affects people in safety-sensitive roles, such as pilots, construction workers, healthcare professionals, teachers, nursing home employees and truck drivers, among others,

See Also: GOP Gov. Noem Signs Bill Compelling South Dakota's Medical Marijuana Patients To Acknowledge Federal Gun Ban

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