MARCH 6, 2023:
(South Dakota Broadcasters Association)- The South Dakota Legislature passes a bill this morning (March 6, 2023) that adds Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to the list of medical conditions approved for treatment with medical marijuana. SB 1 passed the House 36 to 32.
Republican Rep. Ernie Otten from Tea said adding PTSD gives people relief. “Let’s first shoot the elephant in the room,” he said. “Is it medicine? No. It is for pain relief and allows somebody to sleep.” Otten also said he was surprised at some people using cannabis that he would never have guessed were using it.
Republican Rep. Fred Deutsch from Florence spoke against the measure. “If we’re only looking at compassion, we’re not doing our job,” he argued. He also said worldwide, there are plenty of studies that state that medical cannabis is not effective in treating PTSD.
The bill also allows the Legislature to determine which ailments or disorders qualify for medical marijuana treatment. Currently, the state Department of Health makes those determinations.
The measure previously passed the Senate and now goes to Republican Gov. Kristi Noem for her consideration.
FEBRUARY 28, 2023:
(South Dakota Broadcasters Association)- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder would be added to the list of ailments medical for which providers could prescribe medical marijuana.
The House Health and Human Services Committee today (Feb. 28, 2023) passed SB 1 on an 8 to 5 vote after about an hour and a half of testimony and discussion. The bill also removes the state Department of Health from decision-making for which disorders medical cannabis can be used. If passed, the measure would allow the legislature to add or subtract diagnoses from medical marijuana usage.
Most of the discussion centered on PTSD. Two veterans who served tours in recent wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan said using medical marijuana saved their lives and allowed them to pursue counseling.
“I spent five years looking at anti-depressants,” Clint Wood, an Air Force veteran from Vermillion, said. “They are difficult to get off. The day I folded cannabis with therapy, I began making strides I couldn’t believe.” Wood is now a patent agent.
Becky Letsche from Madison, a former combat medic in Afghanistan, said using medical marijuana for her PTSD turned her life around.
“I’m not using it for fun,” Letsche said. “I’m using it for PTSD. It allowed me to rest and not have nightmares. Medical marijuana helped save my life.”
Some opponents said medical marijuana simply masks the pain of PTSD and doesn’t address the underlying causes. Others thought it was bad public policy and unsupported by science.
“This is a reckless disregard to medical and scientific studies and public safety,” said David Omdahl, a former state senator and engineer from Sioux Falls. “This bill passed the Senate on feelings, not facts.”
Republican Rep. Fred Deutsch from Florence says the interim marijuana study group that proposed SB 1 did not look at the science enough to consider cannabis as a treatment for PTSD.
Secretary of Health Melissa Magstadt, also a nurse practitioner, disagreed.
“We’ve looked at research in other states and from stakeholders,” she said. “We heard over and over from people that this (medical marijuana) addresses symptoms and is not necessarily a cure.” Magstadt also said it will take some time to get the state’s initiated medical marijuana law to where lawmakers, the Governor, patients and medical providers want it to be. “It’s a process,” she said.
The bill now goes to the House for final consideration.
FEBRUARY 10, 2023:
(South Dakota Broadcasters Association)- Consultations to obtain certification for medical marijuana would have to take place in medical facilities under a bill passed by the South Dakota House yesterday afternoon (Feb. 9, 2023). HB 1172 aims to stop so-called “pop-up clinics” held in hotel rooms and other locations.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Fred Deutsch of Florence, who has sponsored several bills restricting medical cannabis this session, said the bill was necessary to protect patients.
“Voters (in 2020) didn’t say allow “pop-up clinics,”‘ he said on the House floor. “Where is it people go to see their doctor? They go to the doctor’s office.” Deutsch alleges that “pop-up clinics” have been held in bars, strip clubs and hotel rooms. He says if a medical marijuana dispensary wants to provide an ad hoc clinic, it must do so in a medical facility, such as a doctor’s office, a hospital, a dentist’s office, a clinic or a similar facility. Deutsch says the marijuana dispensary could rent the space from the medical facility.
Currently, the bill does not address how home-bound or people in hospice in their homes could obtain medical cannabis. Deutsch says the Senate will offer an amendment to provide for that.
The measure passed 47 to 21.
It now goes to a Senate committee for consideration.
FEBRUARY 7, 2023:
(South Dakota Broadcasters Association)- Two bills placing more restrictions on medical marijuana pass the House Health and Human Services Committee this morning (Feb. 7, 2023).
One bill, HB 1172, requires a medical assessment of a patient in a licensed healthcare facility to obtain a medical cannabis card.
The other bill, HB 1129, requires that a doctor certify that they have assessed the patient’s medical history. It would also require the visit is not for obtaining a marijuana card unless it is a referral, and that any contra-indications of medical cannabis are indicated.
Both bills were sponsored by Republican Rep. Fred Deutsch from Florence. He said the first bill addresses “pop-up” clinics in hotels, storefronts, and other locations. “There are no regulations on clinic locations,” Deutsch said. “This would provide some modicum of regulation.” He said such clinics had been held in bars and strip clubs.
Jeremiah Murphy, a lobbyist for the medical marijuana industry in South Dakota, said HB 1172 arbitrarily reduces the number of facilities where potential patients can receive their medical marijuana card. He also said as odious as some locations might be, they are better than the alternatives. “The black market is where most marijuana is sold,” Murphy said. “The more you put people in front of doctors, the better.”
Opponents made attempts to kill the bills but were unsuccessful.
HB 1172 passed the committee on a 10 to 2 vote.
HB 1129 passed on a 9 to 4 vote.
Both measures now go to the House for further consideration.
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