In a session full of bills tinkering with the state’s medical marijuana laws, a House committee passed four more medical cannabis bills this morning (Thursday).
The House Health and Human Services Committee passed SB10, SB11, SB42, and SB43.
- SB10 passed 7 to 4. If a dispensary issues a medical cannabis certification to a patient, they must notify the patient’s primary or referring practitioner.
However, during the committee discussion, some committee members needed clarification on how the current system works or how this bill would work. They said they would rely on the expertise of the sponsors and the medical marijuana committee. There was also discussion about what to do if a patient didn’t know who their “normal” practitioner was, or if they didn’t have a practitioner.
- SB11 passed 12 to 0. It prohibits a practitioner from referring a patient to a medical cannabis clinic in which the practitioner or their immediate family has a financial relationship.
The committee discussed what “knowingly” sending a patient to a clinic by the provider owner means. Members concluded that if a patient ended up at a clinic owned by their provider on their own, that was not “knowingly” referring them to the dispensary.
- SB42 passed 10 to 2. It is a cleanup bill that modifies several laws concerning medical marijuana.
- SB43 passed 43. It increases the fee for a medical cannabis facility from just over $5,000 to $14,000.
The owner of a small dispensary in Fort Pierre said the nearly three-fold increase could cause him to lay off employees. He said that since marijuana is illegal under federal law, he and other cannabis facilities cannot deduct their operating expenses like a “regular” business can, so margins are tight.
All four bills had previously passed the Senate. They now head to the House for further consideration.
-Todd Epp
South Dakota Broadcasters Association
