South Dakota’s Republican Governor Kristi Noem has signed several bills into law amending the state’s medicinal cannabis rules, NORML reports.
One expands the pool of patients eligible to receive medicinal cannabis authorisations to include those diagnosed with AIDS/HIV, Lou Gehrig’s disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer (or those undergoing chemotherapy), Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
However, provisions that previously gave patients and others the ability to petition health department officials to add additional qualifying conditions have been repealed. In future, lawmakers will have the sole discretion to do so.
Meanwhile, another bill prohibits health practitioners from providing patients with an authorisation to access medicinal cannabis if they are either pregnant or breastfeeding, making South Dakota the only US state to explicitly impose such restrictions.
A third bill prohibits recommending physicians from offering discounts or other financial incentives in exchange for their services, while the Governor vetoed legislation which sought to increase the amount of allowable THC levels in legal hemp products.
South Dakota voters approved a citizens’ initiative to legalise medicinal cannabis in 2020, a move opposed by Governor Noem at the time.
Kentucky
Kentucky’s Democratic Governor Andy Beshear has signed a bill into law legalising medicinal cannabis in the state.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Senator Stephen West, recently passed in the Senate before clearing the House on March 30.
Beshear said: “In November, I signed an executive order to help Kentuckians with certain medical conditions – like our veterans suffering from PTSD – find safe and effective relief through medical cannabis.
“Now, I am finally able to sign this legislation into law and fully legalise medical cannabis – something the majority of Kentuckians support.”
Under the measure, patients with a recommendation from a medical professional could qualify to use cannabis if they suffer from conditions including cancer, severe pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms or spasticity, chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting, and PTSD.
Montana
A proposed law that would have effectively cancelled Montana’s recreational cannabis industry and put new restrictions on medicinal cannabis has died in committee, MJBiz Daily reports.
Republican Senator Keith Regier introduced the bill on March 30 with the intent to “reduce the demand for marijuana sales” in the state by banning all non-medicinal sales.
It would have raised medicinal cannabis sales tax from 4% to 20%, and capped the potency of cannabis flower and concentrates at 10%. It would also have scrapped adult-use dispensaries and reduced the number of plants adults could grow at home to one.
However, some senators expressed concerns about subverting the will of the voters, who opted to legalise recreational use in November 2020, and the bill was voted down in committee by six votes to four.
