South Dakota Medical Marijuana Advocates Alarmed After Lawmakers Give Prohibitionists A Platform

*“There’s kind of a shock wave going through our community right now, with
the speakers that were invited, most of whom were out-of-state.”*

*By Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight*

Representatives of South Dakota medical marijuana businesses said they were
alarmed Wednesday after a state committee that oversees the industry spent
much of an all-day meeting listening to invited speakers who warned about
health risks and other dangers.

Emmett Reistroffer, of Genesis Farms in Sioux Falls, spoke during the
public comment session at the end of the meeting.

“My phone has been blowing up with text messages,” he said. “There’s kind
of a shock wave going through our community right now, with the speakers
that were invited, most of whom were out-of-state.”

Reistroffer also said he fears the committee is involved in a coordinated
effort to restrict or repeal the state’s medical marijuana program, which
voters approved in 2020 and the state implemented in 2022. There are
currently 16,477 patient cards issued in the state.

Reistroffer’s comments resulted in the chairwoman of the Medical Marijuana
Oversight Committee, Rep. Josephine Garcia, R-Watertown, cutting him off.

“There has been no intention at all for any agenda this meeting, other than
to follow what was not done when this program was first rolled out,” Garcia
said. “That was my only intention here. If you’re insinuating that me, as
the chair, have said something or orchestrated something, I have not done
that. It is awareness for the public. This is a public safety issue.”

The panel of speakers included medical professionals and retired law
enforcement officers from other states who shared concerns about
over-prescription, youth access, mental health impacts and a blurring
between medical and recreational use.

Ed Moses, a retired law enforcement officer from Missouri, talked about
various dangers of marijuana. He alleged medical marijuana is a “Trojan
horse” for recreational marijuana.

“Marijuana can change who we are and our values,” he told the committee.

Karen Randall, an emergency medicine physician from Colorado, said she sees
adults and children come into the emergency room due to marijuana-related
incidents. She told a story about a child getting a highly potent marijuana
candy product from the back of a dispensary without any identification, and
ending up in the emergency room.

Randall said Colorado has become overloaded with various marijuana
products, and it’s now the drug of choice for kids there.

“They’re not drinking, they’re not smoking like they used to—they’re using
marijuana,” she said.

University of Oklahoma professor John Duncan, who works in the College of
Medicine, advised the committee to treat medical marijuana like traditional
medications, including prescribed dosing. He also said the committee should
watch out for synthetic forms of marijuana that come with a host of other
side effects.

Colorado addiction psychiatrist Libby Stuyt told the committee that medical
marijuana is not the post-traumatic stress disorder solution that medical
marijuana proponents allege. She said patients who are prescribed medical
marijuana for mental health disorders often mistake the feeling of
withdrawal for needing more medicine—blurring treatment and addiction.

Wednesday’s lineup also included Sioux Falls Superintendent James Nold. He
said marijuana has become a problem in schools, with students accessing
products through adults.

Jeremiah Murphy, who lobbies for the medical marijuana industry, told
committee members during the public comment period that they should take
pride in the state’s program.

“If you think about what you heard today, they hardly landed a punch on the
South Dakota program,” he said. “They showed you real, significant problems
in Oklahoma.”

Reistroffer said the medical marijuana industry is taking heat for local “smoke
shops” selling illegal products, including those with hemp-derived but
chemically modified ingredients. He said they are the ones selling
high-dose “candy bars” and products that attract kids.

“We are not, yet we are getting painted with their brush,” he said.

The committee made no formal recommendations and took no votes during the
meeting. The committee’s members are appointed by the Legislature’s
Executive Board. The membership includes legislators and non-legislators,
with state law requiring membership from the medical, counseling, law
enforcement and patient communities.

*This story was first published by South Dakota Searchlight.*

*Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.*

The post South Dakota Medical Marijuana Advocates Alarmed After Lawmakers
Give Prohibitionists A Platform appeared first on Marijuana Moment.