Robert Celt
New Member
After a proposed statewide ballot measure failed on a technicality this week, backers of medical marijuana in South Dakota found new life in the form of a bill offered by a West River senator.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 7-0 in favor of registering Senate Bill 171 on Friday. The bill would allow the state to "permit and regulate the compassionate use of cannabis (marijuana) and provide penalties therefor."
On Friday, the bill had its first reading in the Senate and was referred back to the same committee where it originated for a hearing next week.
Committee chairman Sen. Bruce Rampelberg, R-Rapid City, sees the bill as a way to start a conversation about how cannabis could be used as medicine. He said he became intrigued about the possibility of marijuana as a medicine after receiving several emails this year, and in years past, from people who say they have found relief from serious medical issues by using marijuana.
"People with cancer or other problems write to me and say they have found relief from this (marijuana), so I think it is worth looking into," Rampelberg said, adding that he would not support legalizing recreational use of the drug.
Roxanne Hammond of the Legislative Research Council said because the deadline had passed for a bill to be sponsored by an organization or a legislator, this bill needed to be brought by a legislative committee in order to be heard. Though the Health and Human Services Committee shows up as the sponsor of the bill, Hammond said that doesn't necessarily mean the members support it, but rather that the members simply want it to be heard.
Melissa Mentele, of New Approach South Dakota, the group that spearhead the statewide ballot effort that failed due to improper signatures this week, said Friday she was "cautiously optimistic" now that a legislative measure had been filed.
She said the group will now begin working to spread the word about the bill and asking for anyone who finds medical relief from marijuana to share their story with legislators before the committee hearing next week.
As the bill is written now, it is an exact copy of what petitioners were circulating in hopes of getting it on the ballot for the November election. Within its 38 pages, the bill outlines how medical cannabis would be available to patients in the state and sets up regulations for the drug.
The Senate bill would allow for possession of up to three ounces of marijuana for persons with a medical marijuana card. That card would be obtained through a recommendation by a doctor with whom the patient has a "bona-fide practitioner-patient relationship."
Cards could only be given to people with debilitating medical conditions, including but not limited to cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, epilepsy and a list of several others.
Another medical marijuana bill, Senate Bill 167, was introduced on Thursday but gave no parameters for the use or regulation of the drug. It simply states "the compassionate use of medical cannabis is permitted and the use shall be regulated."
Rampelberg was also a sponsor on that bill which has been assigned to the Health and Human Services Committee but has not been heard.
"I want to elevate the discussion and begin to see how we could use this as medicine," Rampelberg said. "If we start treating this as a drug that doctors can prescribe, I think it could help a lot of people."
Rampelberg admits he has not read the entirety of Senate Bill 171, but said it will likely need to be amended if it has a chance at passage.
He said the bill faces an uphill battle in the legislature. "It's going to be a push, it's going to be a tough one, but you never know what might strike a chord with people."
Mentele said the group is willing to give on some cultivation issues, but really hopes that the qualifying conditions for medical marijuana laid out in the bill stay. "We are more than willing to give and take, and completely understand the whole thing isn't going to be handed to us on a silver platter," she said.
Gov. Dennis Daugaard said in an earlier interview with the Rapid City Journal that he would be opposed to medical marijuana in the state.
"I understand the wishes of those who have medical conditions to have medical marijuana as an option for their treatment," Daugaard said in January. "At the same time, I also believe that medical marijuana is also the first step toward recreational marijuana and that in some states, medical marijuana and access to medical marijuana has become more than it should be, and in fact, giving opportunities to those who want to use for recreational use, to mimic or falsify a physical condition to give them the privilege of recreational use when their medical condition doesn't really support it."
Sen. Craig Tieszen, R-Rapid City, has supported the concept of allowing medical marijuana in the past through a bill he sponsored in 2013. He said during a phone interview Friday that he had not yet read Senate Bill 171, but said he would not support a bill similar to the ballot measure that failed. Tiezen felt that measure left too many loopholes for people to exploit the system and get medical marijuana when they didn't need it.
In contrast, Tieszen's 2013 bill would have allowed medical necessity as a defense in court for those who were arrested for using marijuana. That bill died in committee.
Senate Bill 171 will likely be heard at the Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 10 according to Rampelberg.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: SD: Medical Marijuana Still Alive After Committee Registers Senate Bill
Author: Chris Huber
Contact: Rapid City Journal
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Rapid City Journal
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 7-0 in favor of registering Senate Bill 171 on Friday. The bill would allow the state to "permit and regulate the compassionate use of cannabis (marijuana) and provide penalties therefor."
On Friday, the bill had its first reading in the Senate and was referred back to the same committee where it originated for a hearing next week.
Committee chairman Sen. Bruce Rampelberg, R-Rapid City, sees the bill as a way to start a conversation about how cannabis could be used as medicine. He said he became intrigued about the possibility of marijuana as a medicine after receiving several emails this year, and in years past, from people who say they have found relief from serious medical issues by using marijuana.
"People with cancer or other problems write to me and say they have found relief from this (marijuana), so I think it is worth looking into," Rampelberg said, adding that he would not support legalizing recreational use of the drug.
Roxanne Hammond of the Legislative Research Council said because the deadline had passed for a bill to be sponsored by an organization or a legislator, this bill needed to be brought by a legislative committee in order to be heard. Though the Health and Human Services Committee shows up as the sponsor of the bill, Hammond said that doesn't necessarily mean the members support it, but rather that the members simply want it to be heard.
Melissa Mentele, of New Approach South Dakota, the group that spearhead the statewide ballot effort that failed due to improper signatures this week, said Friday she was "cautiously optimistic" now that a legislative measure had been filed.
She said the group will now begin working to spread the word about the bill and asking for anyone who finds medical relief from marijuana to share their story with legislators before the committee hearing next week.
As the bill is written now, it is an exact copy of what petitioners were circulating in hopes of getting it on the ballot for the November election. Within its 38 pages, the bill outlines how medical cannabis would be available to patients in the state and sets up regulations for the drug.
The Senate bill would allow for possession of up to three ounces of marijuana for persons with a medical marijuana card. That card would be obtained through a recommendation by a doctor with whom the patient has a "bona-fide practitioner-patient relationship."
Cards could only be given to people with debilitating medical conditions, including but not limited to cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, epilepsy and a list of several others.
Another medical marijuana bill, Senate Bill 167, was introduced on Thursday but gave no parameters for the use or regulation of the drug. It simply states "the compassionate use of medical cannabis is permitted and the use shall be regulated."
Rampelberg was also a sponsor on that bill which has been assigned to the Health and Human Services Committee but has not been heard.
"I want to elevate the discussion and begin to see how we could use this as medicine," Rampelberg said. "If we start treating this as a drug that doctors can prescribe, I think it could help a lot of people."
Rampelberg admits he has not read the entirety of Senate Bill 171, but said it will likely need to be amended if it has a chance at passage.
He said the bill faces an uphill battle in the legislature. "It's going to be a push, it's going to be a tough one, but you never know what might strike a chord with people."
Mentele said the group is willing to give on some cultivation issues, but really hopes that the qualifying conditions for medical marijuana laid out in the bill stay. "We are more than willing to give and take, and completely understand the whole thing isn't going to be handed to us on a silver platter," she said.
Gov. Dennis Daugaard said in an earlier interview with the Rapid City Journal that he would be opposed to medical marijuana in the state.
"I understand the wishes of those who have medical conditions to have medical marijuana as an option for their treatment," Daugaard said in January. "At the same time, I also believe that medical marijuana is also the first step toward recreational marijuana and that in some states, medical marijuana and access to medical marijuana has become more than it should be, and in fact, giving opportunities to those who want to use for recreational use, to mimic or falsify a physical condition to give them the privilege of recreational use when their medical condition doesn't really support it."
Sen. Craig Tieszen, R-Rapid City, has supported the concept of allowing medical marijuana in the past through a bill he sponsored in 2013. He said during a phone interview Friday that he had not yet read Senate Bill 171, but said he would not support a bill similar to the ballot measure that failed. Tiezen felt that measure left too many loopholes for people to exploit the system and get medical marijuana when they didn't need it.
In contrast, Tieszen's 2013 bill would have allowed medical necessity as a defense in court for those who were arrested for using marijuana. That bill died in committee.
Senate Bill 171 will likely be heard at the Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 10 according to Rampelberg.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: SD: Medical Marijuana Still Alive After Committee Registers Senate Bill
Author: Chris Huber
Contact: Rapid City Journal
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Rapid City Journal
