Governor Noem and Legislative Leaders Announce Plan for Implementation of IM 26
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem and leadership in both chambers of the South Dakota state legislature announced a plan to implement Initiated Measure 26 (IM 26).
“We are working diligently to get IM 26 implemented safely and correctly,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “The feasibility of getting this program up and running well will take additional time. I am thankful to our legislative leaders for helping make sure that we do this right.”
The plan would add a year of additional flexibility on the implementation timeline and create an interim committee to meet and recommend solutions before next legislative session.
The state of South Dakota has consulted with industry experts Cannabis Public Policy Consulting (CPPC). CPPC has not seen a successful implementation of a medicinal marijuana program in just 8 months, the timeframe IM 26 currently requires. Some states take more than two years for successful implementation. To address this, the implementation plan adds additional flexibility to the timeline. This will allow the State of South Dakota to address several policy concerns and additional rules regarding IM 26.
“Our Senate leadership fully supports the effort to properly implement a workable medical marijuana program,” said Senate Majority Leader Gary Cammack. “We will honor the voters’ wishes.”
Furthermore, CPPC advises that no state in the country has ever implemented both a medicinal and a recreational marijuana program simultaneously. While the circuit court has ruled that Amendment A is unconstitutional, the state is still anticipating that the Supreme Court will have the opportunity to weigh in on this constitutional matter.
“There is no doubt that IM 26 passed in South Dakota, and it is fully our intention to honor the will of the voters,” said House Majority Leader Kent Peterson. “Based upon the experiences of other states, we know that it takes time to start implementing a safe and workable program. We will get the job done.”
Why not a few more years. More study is needed and require that medical marijuana passes the scrutiny of legitimate rigorous clinical trials to obtain FDA approval.
The FDA can’t approve something that is federally illegal. A simple and very quick google search will bring up a plethora of peer reviewed studies showing the legitimately of medical marijuana. Or have a conversation with almost any doctor. Are their side effects, absolutely. But nothing close to those of current prescription medications. But, it is evident you simply don’t care and even typing this comment is a complete waste of my time. I applaud your dedication. But I laugh at your ignorance.
I did have a conversation with a number of physicians in Minnesota and they commented that the medical marijuana program lost it’s integrity being pushed by pot industry activists with out the scrutiny of legitimate long term rigorous clinical trials. The vast majority of physicians in Minnesota will not risk the reputation of their medical practice with Minnesota’s medical marijuana program.
When you have the Mayo Clinic come out and make statements that there is no scientific evidence that Medical Marijuana can help with certain qualifying conditions it’s pretty bad. The DFL presently has control of the house and has used the medical marijuana program as a backdoor path to fully legalize and commercialize THC (Marijuana) in Minnesota to gain short term votes.
Unfortunately part of the misleading and false sales pitch by those who pushed medical MJ in South Dakota posted medical studies that were incomplete and only provided a short glimpse. I forwarded those studies to Smart Approaches to Marijuana Minnesota vice chair Dr. Ken Winters Phd Senior Research Scientist at the University of Minnesota and the Oregon Institute and he said that studies in order to be valid run far longer than that. Another tactic used by the pot pushers were showing studies paid by the industry and touted “May Show Promise!” That means absolutely nothing. Smoking pot may show promise in curing male pattern baldness? All part of the manipulative, deceptive and false campaign used to legalize in South Dakota which this industry has used in other states along with pouring millions of out of state money into them last cycle to pass legalization.
Suddenly everyone cares about honoring the will of the people. All it took was an 80% vote in favor for these so-called representatives to develop some courage. /eyeroll
Is Noem really admitting that her, along with our legislature, are completely incompetent? 47 states have some form of medicinal marijuana and we have to drag our feet to reinvent the wheel while tax dollars continue to flow out of state. She is going to guarantee that people show up to the polls in 2022 and that isn’t going to help Republicans.