Four Guardrails: Noem Proposes a Path Forward for Decriminalizing Industrial Hemp

Pat Powers

Four Guardrails: Noem Proposes a Path Forward for Decriminalizing Industrial Hemp

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem today sent the legislature her “Four Guardrails” for a path forward on decriminalizing industrial hemp. She also released the following statement:

VIDEO: Noem Outlines Four Guardrails for decriminalizing industrial hemp

[Click here to Download]

“Over the last year, we’ve had a long conversation about legalizing hemp, and everyone knows that I don’t think it’s a good idea. 

“Last year, I vetoed a bill that didn’t address concerns surrounding public safety, law enforcement, or funding. I asked the legislature to wait until we had direction from the federal government and a plan to address those concerns. Now since that time, things have changed. Federal guidelines have been put in place, a South Dakota tribe has been given the green light on production, and other states’ actions mean we need to address hemp transportation through our state. The legislative summer study also did great work, and they included some good ideas.

“Today, I am outlining for the legislature a path forward – four guardrails, if you will – on hemp. These include: 1) reliable enforcement standards; 2) responsible regulations regarding licensing, reporting, and inspections; 3) an appropriate plan for safe transportation; and 4) an adequate funding plan.

 “Given all that we need to accomplish this session, if we can get this done in the coming weeks, it would be a good way to kick off this year’s legislative session.”

Click here to download Governor Noem’s Four Guardrails on decriminalizing industrial hemp. Click here to download cost estimates associated with decriminalizing industrial hemp.​

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53 thoughts on “Four Guardrails: Noem Proposes a Path Forward for Decriminalizing Industrial Hemp”

  1. “I will veto any hemp legislation in 2020” – Kristi Noem a few months ago. First, I thought it was extremely improper to give that statement – without even seeing bill legislation and a committee was actively studying it.

    What’s changed and why has she backtracked? 2 marijuana initiatives now on the ballot and a terrible rollout of the “We’re On It” campaign. If she gives on the hemp issue maybe a few voters will be less likely to vote on those issues or legislators might give her support on defeating those measures. I think it’s too late – Kristi Noem already soured the waters on this issue.

    1. It’s never too late but I believe those who liked her stance on hemp will now be disappointed. She had essentially convinced a sizable portion of conservative republicans that hemp is a gateway to marijuana. Now she is clearly backpedaling. Why?

      It would never pass without her support.

      1. Did you two even read what’s right in front of your faces? Kristi has always said ‘We aren’t READY’ for hemp yet, not that we will never legalize it. Now that one of the SD Tribes has legalized it, we must inevitably take measures for safe transport. I disagree with Kristi on Recreational marijuana, but if you’re anti-recreational, then Kristi is doing everything perfectly as it should be done.

        1. Yes – I read what is in front of my face – its the exact opposite of what she said a couple months ago. I know well the difference between “ready” and “veto” – you implied something from my post that wasn’t stated. Her words were “I will veto any hemp legislation introduced in the 2020 legislative session.” This was said without seeing any bill language or hearing the committee study report.

          1. Way to take half a quote and run with it Mr. “”REALIST”” Notice the double-quotes.

            “…until law enforcement can quickly and affordably differentiate between marijuana and hemp, states that have legalized hemp have essentially legalized marijuana as well”

            Now that a tribe has legalized, we are obligated to pass certain measures in favor of its inevitable legalization. This is common sense if you actually understand the issue. Kristi is doing everything the way it needs to be done.

            1. Sure – now she might be. My point is, and obviously you can’t get it, is that she just completely backtracked her position on hemp LEGISLATION, not whether or not we could or someday legalize. She originally said she would veto ANY piece of hemp legislation, and now is providing guardrails for that legislation. Hence – that is a completely different position.

              The tribe is completely sovereign from the State of SD. We are under no affirmative obligation to do anything there with respect to their decision.

  3. Unauthentic damage control. Noem is playing DC politics and South Dakotans are going to see through it.

  4. Well that was a quick reversal. Did she finally realize she shouldn’t burn all that political capital on hemp when she’s got a big marijuana fight coming up soon? Or maybe Bryon can insure it now?

  5. Why reverse now?

    I’m confused? Was it that big of a loser with voters in polling?

    I can see getting it out of the way because it would dominate the news cycles all session like no other issue that doesn’t matter would.

  6. The delay in legalization will give the farmers time to assess the market for the product.
    After trying CBD oil and balm this week myself, I can’t imagine this fad lasting very long. It cost $160 for 2 ounces of oil and 1.3 ounces of balm, and all it did was give me the munchies and make me sleepy. I didn’t notice much, if any, pain relief.
    I know of very few people who want to spend that much money for an appetite stimulant that causes somnolence. All that will do will make you gain weight, by snoozing on the couch and stuffing your face.

    1. Anne I commend you for at least stepping outside your comfort zone and giving it a try. For the average user, CBD might feel that way. Go on Youtube though, and look at what i can do for people with chronic siezures or Parkinson’s disease or Multiple Sclerosis. They go from shaking everywhere to being calm and still and happy. It also helps people gain an appetite which can be helpful with a wide variety of patients. Trust me though, CBD is definitely not just a fad, it”s a strong medicinal agent that we are learning more and more about its uses. Now that you’ve tried CBD, you just let me know when you wanna take a little hit of the real deal 🙂

        1. The last time I smoked pot I hallucinated. The floor beneath my feet turned to ocean waves lapping at the shore. I think the tide was coming in. It was not as much fun as a trip to the beach, though. Then I went into the kitchen and pigged our. It was a stupid way to waste an evening. Pot makes you stupid.

          1. Holy S**** You’ll have to tell me where you got that stuff because I’ve tried acid and DMT and didn’t have a reaction anything like that. I’ve smoked some REALLY good Pot and at most it might make the walls kind of look wavy sort of how u described. Sounds fun lol

          2. The “last time” was about 40 years ago, when “pot” was much weaker. It would be extremely risky to ingest the more powerful strains of marijuana available today, , even if she were interested in trying it. She has an low tolerance for drugs or alcohol.

            Everyone has different tolerances for drugs (both legal and not), and how people react to them, or what side effects they may have, can be radically different.

            And, of course, the more drugs one takes, the more likely to suffer unexpected side effects.

            1. The potency argument is the absolute WORST one against legal cannabis, especially coming from a booze peddler like yourself Mr. Beal!

              Beer is 2-3x as strong as it was 30 years ago. You can now legally purchase alcohol higher than 99 proof, almost pure alcohol!!
              The craziest part about this is that JUST by consuming too much alcohol, people can, and do, DIE every single year… not from the long term effects, not from accidents related to impairment, just straight up overdose death.

              Cannabis on the other hand does not have a fatal dose. Period. No matter how strong. The side effects of overconsumption are, at worst, fatigue and a headache.

              But please, tell me more about this dangerous, “ultra potent” weed.

              2. “a booze peddler like yourself Mr. Beal!’

                FYI – Don’t assume all Beals are related. As far as we know, we’re not.

              3. Our only connection to Beal Distributing is a duck we bought from Arch’s daughter. Actually it’s a drake, and we call him Arch.

          3. Well then don’t smoke it. I don’t like it either because it did nothing for me, but if somebody wants to smoke it, who cares, none of your business.

    2. One of the best pieces of evidence occurs in the video Ride With Larry – towards the end you see how much medical marijuana can change his unfortunate circumstance of having to live with Parkinsons. I’ve included the Amazon link to the video – it’s free on Amazon Prime.

      While I’m not pro-pot, when did being a Republican mean just because I’m personally not in favor of something mean that others cant have the freedom to choose whether or not it’s for them either?

      https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Larry-Smith/dp/B01M66UJUU

    4. Anne – the effects you describe are only present when the intoxicant THC is present in large amounts of the cannabis you consumed. The “sleepeness” and “muchies” are the “high” that CBD dont get you.

      So either you had one hell of a placebo reaction, you smoked some good ol fashioned pot, or you are making the whole thing up.

      Pesky science and all.

      1. I had heard there were variations in quality of different CBD products so I thought I would try the gourmet, extra strength boutique stuff. That’s why it cost so much. And I couldn’t stop eating. The effect was far and above what could be accounted for by the prednisone I was prescribed for osteoarthritis. A while back I bought hemp seeds at Walmart and they didn’t do anything at all.
        When the only effect you get is the munchies, it’s really not worth it. I have no interest in going through Cheesecake Rehab again.

        1. The potency of the cbd would not matter in terms of your increased appetite. It doesnt matter if you were to inject pure cbd straight into your veins, unless it had an illegal amount of thc in it, you wouldnt get the munchies.

          Probably a combination of your prescription and a placebo makes the most sense.

          1. I’m still taking the prednisone and my appetite has returned to normal. There is no way I can personally test the products I bought for THC content, but if you want to shell out $160 at the Pomegranate Market maybe you can, And therein lies the problem of the whole hemp thing: the THC content can be variable.

          2. the CBD oil i used is the “plusCBD” brand which is classified as a “full spectrum” CBD product, meaning it’s got more that just CBD in it. It’s got ALL the cannabinoids. This site rated it as the “highest quality.”
            It might not even be legal in South Dakota, but you can buy it in Sioux Falls.

            https://www.tuck.com/best-cbd-oils/

            Maybe you’ve never tried the really good stuff yourself.

            1. “The extract known as CBD oil sold in the U.S. falls into one of two categories. Crystalline isolate exclusively contains CBD, as other cannabinoids have been removed; full spectrum oil, on the other hand, retains THC and other cannabinoids, and is only sold in states where marijuana use has been legalized.”

              This is from the website you supplied. If they are indeed selling “full spectrum” CBD in Sioux Falls it is incredibly illegal and would explain the side effects.

              I have “tried” all forms of CBD, full of THC and without, expensive and inexpensive, all in an effort to make my chemo tolerable. I understand the science behind it pretty thoroughly which is why I am positive that the CBD you consumed did not give you the muchies.

              As an aside, the full THC version works the best for chemo for those exact reasons, it brings the appetite level somehwere near normal and the “high” from the THC just takes the edge off the dull ache that life becomes when battling this scourge.

              1. I am fully sympathetic to the use of medical marijuana, it’s the recreational use I consider nuts.
                And I heard from the AG himself that some of the other products in the “plusCBD” line have tested “hot.”
                So get yourself over to the Pomegranate Market, while they are still selling the “hot” stuff.

                1. What evidence do you have that recreational is nuts? Is this just reverberations of refer madness propaganda that we find in so many corners of SD, or do you have some unbiased and credible evidence .. like testimony?

                  Testimony is hard to come by since it’s illegal to smoke it. People testifying are also sometimes shaky since they have been socially marginalized (kept out of the job market, excluded from friends and family) for years (in some cases decades).

                  1. No because it’s something my friends and I all did in the 60s.
                    Why the younger generation takes such an Interest in the stupid shit their grandparents did in their youth is a mystery.
                    Pot makes you stupid, apathetic, and fat.

  7. S.D. will be one of last for recreational. Hopefully never. I laugh at people thinking it has anything other than a snowballs chance in hell of passing.

    I have no problem with medical or hemp. Seems like common sense to me.
    This state has already debilitated thousands with video lottery. Legalize weed and watch this state turn into a total Shit-hole. And yes I’ve smoked a ton of the stuff in the past. So I do know what it can do. This stuff today is potent and can ruin young brains.

    1. Thor called. He said he’s pissed you confiscated his rainbow bong.

      “This stuff today is potent and can ruin young brains”

      Alcohol is associated with 7 forms of cancer (and that’s actually substantiated).

      When will your war party be embarking on the anti-alcohol campaign?

      Cigarettes? It says right on the package that they are very dangerous. When will that anti-cigarette campaign be launching?

      https://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20160722/alcohol-seven-types-cancer#1

  9. Industrial hemp’s a scam. The value of the entire world industry is less than a year’s corn crop in SD. It’ll just move a few more farms towards extinction as farmers get more desperate to try something to save a dwindling operation in this terrible farm economy. Shame on Daschle, Johnson and the rest of the pot industry profiteers for using this backdoor towards a different goal. If you want to legalize pot, vote on that and don’t risk our farms with this trojan horse effort.

    1. Why can’t farmers make that decision for themselves, mhs? How can you possibly believe you are asserting a conservative position on this?

    2. Why are you still blaming Daschle and Johnson for anything? Hell, Daschle does not and has not event lived in the state for more than 15 years now.

      Johnson has since retired and transitioned to private life and has largely stayed silent on a lot of issues.

      You really need to take a deep knee bend and relax.

      1. Or, you need to read something besides High Times. Daschle is a board member of a major cannabis company and the driver of their ballot and legislative efforts nationwide. Hence large legal fees paid to Brendan Johnson to carry water for the ballot initiative. Both are peddling their knowledge of the ease of getting on the ballot in SD is a low cost way to get a win they can leverage in larger states, just like every other out of state initiative peddler the state has been cursed with the past 20 years.

    1. What’s funny about farmers losing their lands? Remember Jerusalem artichokes, white mushrooms, et al? Fake miracle crops were the scourge of the 80’s farm crisis with scam artists pumping them to desperate operators. I was involved in hundreds of farm bankruptcies, it was a statewide disaster.

      The fact that two of SD’s most powerful Democrats are now pushing them as camoflage for legalization of THC products is despicable, especially in the middle of the worst year our farmers have seen in decades.

      If we want legal pot, put it on the ballot. Leave hemp in the trash where it belongs.

      2. Oh I see, disregard my previous post. Farmers need government to prevent them from growing hemp because they are too stupid to refrain from growing it if left to their own devices. Got it.

      3. Another example of the illiteracy from our schools. In this case it is the merging of history and economics.

    2. Preach, Tara. 🙂

      On this issue in particular, political impotence.

      Very soft.

      Let’s get together and share a legal brownie and watch The Big Legowski asap.

  11. Lets review.

    CC4L initiative inherently disburses potential power of out of state interests using free market forces.

    Legislature passes unconstitutional anti democracy circulator suppression.

    Two left wing cannabis legalization oligopolies get on the ballot from out of state loophole allowing funding for NASD circulators to fuel olygopolic legalization.

    Circulator suppression overcome in the courts and out in the field.

    All the while, the free market solution was never used by SD “conservatives” to protect the integrity of the body politic.

    Will the legislature adopt the CC4L proposal in spirit and put an end to this blue wave, or will SD conservatives suffer another embarrassing loss where it counts (at the bank)?

    If the SD legislature doesn’t wake up on this issue, not only will cannabis be legal, but the revenues will bloat government and bloat the SDDP coffers.

    That is all.

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