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Puffy's Dispensary

RAPID CITY, S.D. – On Saturday, March 23, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML) organized a statewide “Petition Sign & Drive” event to gather support for a proposed 2024 cannabis legalization ballot measure. The initiative aims to collect 17,508 signatures by May 7 to qualify for the November 5th ballot…

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – South Dakotans voted to legalize recreational cannabis in 2020, but this amendment was ruled unconstitutional due to a technicality shortly thereafter.

Legalization advocates statewide hope to see this issue on the ballot again in 2024, but for that to happen, they will need some help. Six medical cannabis dispensaries, including Puffy’s Dispensary and Greenlight Dispensary in Rapid City, participated in an initiative to gather the required 17,508 signatures for marijuana legalization to return to the ballot in November….

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Legislation regarding changes to medical marijuana laws in Mount Rushmore State has slowed as the Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 2 of the 3 bills down.

House Bill 1024 went through the committee but was amended to make the notice of the federal restriction of firearm ownership a checkbox rather than a signature in an application for a medical card. Marijuana industry lobbyist Jeremiah Murphy asked why concealed firearm permits don’t have a similar notice. Jensen, the sponsor, said the bill was simple. “It does nothing but inform the people.” HB 1024 passed 7 to 0. It now goes to the Senate for further consideration. However, HB1024 passed the House in a slightly different form.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Some medical cannabis dispensary owners say Rapid City doesn’t need additional dispensaries in the area.

A request from the owner of Black Hills Weed Shop, Michael Graham made a request to the city council to discuss reducing the available dispensary licenses from 15 down to nine.

The letter from Graham claims Rapid City has a “surplus of cannabis dispensaries.”

However, the CEO of Puffy’s Dispensary, Kittrick Jefferies disagrees saying that this is simply an attempt to monopolize the local industry and that reducing the number of licenses would negatively impact patient access.

”What that piece of legislation is trying to do is capitalize on market share by reducing the number of licenses in Rapid City. They don’t want patient access, they want more money for their own pocketbooks,” Jefferies said.

The item was postponed to be discussed at a later date.

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Sioux Falls lawyer Ryan Kolbeck typically doesn’t deal with legal questions about hunting licenses.

The criminal defense attorney did field multiple calls on the topic in the days following the November 8 election, however. They started coming in shortly after it became clear that South Dakota voters had voted to reject the legalization of recreational cannabis.

Each question had the same framing: Since federal law prohibits gun ownership by habitual marijuana users—or users of any substance federal classified as “illicit”—would they be able to obtain both a medical marijuana card and a hunting license in the state of South Dakota?

“You have to register with the state [to use medical marijuana], which is different from any other medication,” Kolbeck said. “People were wondering if the state of South Dakota could be trusted, basically.”

The callers had waited out the election, Kolbeck said, hoping a win for recreational marijuana would preclude them from applying for a medical marijuana card that would put their names on a state-held list.

The question was based more on speculation and suspicion of lawmakers than any official guidelines, Kolbeck said, but those suspicions aren’t especially uncommon in states with medical marijuana programs. The issue of hunting licenses comes up in online forums, and gun rights issues have bubbled over into state government action elsewhere.

In Minnesota, concerns over gun permits sparked the introduction of a bill that would have reclassified cannabis to allow medical users to own firearms.

In Oregon, the state pharmacy board re-classified the drug as schedule II, in part to clear a path for firearms permits.

The question of hunting license losses, or even a loss of gun rights, is “theoretical,” according to marijuana activist Matthew Schweich. Even so, Schweich is unsurprised to hear that the question arose in South Dakota.

“It’s really just a question of whether the [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] would try to get records from states on medical cannabis and use them to say that someone was dishonest on the forms,” said Schweich, who helped back the 2020 medical marijuana initiative and the failed 2022 recreational marijuana use measure. “At this point, I’m not aware of that ever happening.”

Obtaining a hunting license is different from purchasing a firearm or getting a firearms permit, of course. Different states have different rules on concealed carry permits that are separate from federal rules. Unlike Oregonians, for example, South Dakotans can carry firearms—concealed or otherwise—without a permit.

And in South Dakota, the use of medical cannabis does not prevent anyone from getting a hunting license.

“If they just simply have a medical marijuana card, one, we wouldn’t check that, but two, it wouldn’t prevent them from getting a license,” said John Kanta, a section chief for the Game, Fish & Parks (GF&P) Department.

There are things that could disqualify a person from a hunting license, though. Someone with more than $1,000 in unpaid child support, for example, would be ineligible, as would a felon.

But those disqualifying issues would only come up if the applicant brought them up, Kanta said. There are a series of boxes the applicant must check to confirm eligibility, with a catch-all box at the end of the process.

“There’s a statement they agree to to say that they are, in fact, eligible for the license,” Kanta said.

No one at the GF&P runs background checks to confirm the accuracy of the statement, though. Marijuana use wouldn’t cause trouble for a hunter unless a game officer caught someone shooting under the influence or otherwise violating hunting laws, Kanta said.

All of which means Kolbeck’s clients are in the clear if they decide to seek a medical marijuana card for chronic pain or another qualifying condition.

Ultimately, however, the mismatch between federal laws on marijuana and state laws that allow medical or recreational use—there are 38 states with one or both—is liable to remain a source for concerns about gun rights, Schweich said. If Congress took steps to reclassify the drug, those theoretical worries would evaporate.

“What we really need is federal reform,” Schweich said.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at Puffy’s Dispensary recently on Main Street Sturgis. Kittrick Jeffries, CEO, and his mother cut the ribbon, with friends, family, and community leaders.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — It’s been 895 days since the vote was taken to legalize both medical and recreational marijuana in South Dakota. That vote passed, but of course, we know what came next. A legal challenge to the vote was taken to court, and the recreational marijuana provision was overturned, deemed unconstitutional.

Now, in 2023, the medical marijuana industry continues to pick up steam. These are somewhere in the range of 25 operating state licensed dispensaries operating in the state, as well as a medical program operated by the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, and recreational and medical programs run by the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

Per the latest update by the state on April 17, there are 8,997 approved patient cards issued in the state, and 212 practitioners approved to recommend medical cannabis use.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) – Medical marijuana is a growing industry in South Dakota and Thursday Sturgis welcomed a new competitor to the trade.

Puffy’s dispensary opened it’s Sturgis doors to patients Thursday with an honorary ribbon cutting ceremony.

People with a medical marijuana card will be able to purchase a variety of products ranging from flowers to THC concentrates. Owner Kittrick Jeffries says medical marijuana can be an alternative to painkillers which have created an addiction problem for many people.

“I know that there are some issues with opioids and overdoses and things like that this is just a safer alternative for patients and it’s just wonderful that we are able to open on the national cannabis holiday,” said Jeffries.

“The Northern Hills has a great community we’ve seen that with a couple of other dispensaries that have opened up in Lead, Deadwood, Spearfish, Belle Fourche, and even Newell we’re just very fortunate to be a part of this Northern Hills cannabis community,” said Jeffries.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Though medical marijuana officially became legal in South Dakota in July, 2021, it was more than a year before cardholders in the state were able to walk through the doors of a licensed dispensary.

From January 1, 2022, to December 30, 2022, the state of the marijuana industry in South Dakota has gone through major changes.

This year has seen a steady increase in medical marijuana patient cardholders, the development of a number of different cultivation businesses, and the opening of the state’s first licensed dispensaries.

January

On January 24, 2022, the South Dakota House voted to ban home cultivation of medical marijuana by certified cardholders. Advocates and industry members voiced opposition to this measure.

Also in January, a bill seeking to ban medical pot gummies was passed by a House committee. This bill too, failed.

February

In February, a bill to legalize recreational, aka adult-use marijuana was considered in the legislature, and advocates were cautiously optimistic.

By February, the state had seen 47 bills dealing with marijuana introduced. Many failed, but some became law.

March

Discussion surrounding the adult-use marijuana bill continued into March when South Dakota’s gubernatorial candidates weighed in with their views on the legislation.

Despite the optimism felt by some supporting the adult-use measure, it failed to pass, dying on the House floor.

A bit later in March, the bill to ban home cultivation of medical cannabis was sent to a conference committee, where members attempted to reconcile two separate versions of the proposal.

As this was taking place, another marijuana-centered bill, this one seeking to add more regulation to where cannabis can be used, failed to make it out of the Senate, dying with 20 votes opposing it.

The next day, the Senate took the opposite action, approving two marijuana-focused bills, one to allow certain facilities to prohibit the use of marijuana on their premises, and another to expand the definition of ‘practitioner’ as it relates to the ability to recommend medical marijuana. Both bills went on to become law.

With a full ban on home cultivation seemingly dead in the water, a measure to limit the number of plants was passed by the legislature and sent to the governor.

By March 29, 2022, just 90 South Dakota doctors had been approved to recommend medical marijuana to patients by the state. These 90 represented just over 4% of the physicians in the state.

April

In April we began to get an understanding of the role that medical marijuana card companies were playing in South Dakota as an event held in Sioux Falls drew hundreds of patients.

May

While the first state-licensed dispensary was still months from opening, it is easy to forget that Native Nations Cannabis, a dispensary owned and operated by the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, had been open since July 2021. In May 2022, they announced plans to double their production.

Later on, in May we heard from a company in Rapid City that was angling to be the first state-licensed dispensary to open. While they missed the mark on that goal, Kittrick Jeffries, the owner of Puffy’s Dispensary outlined the work he was doing to open his store in Rapid City.