South Dakota's Republican Governor Kristi Noem has enacted a series of bills that alter the state's medical cannabis regulations, according to NORML.
One of the measures broadens the categories of patients who can receive medical cannabis authorisations to cover those diagnosed with AIDS/HIV, Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer (including patients undergoing chemotherapy), Crohn's disease, epilepsy, and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
At the same time, existing provisions that allowed patients and others to petition health department officials to add qualifying conditions have been eliminated. Going forward, that authority will rest exclusively with state legislators.
A separate bill bans health practitioners from authorising medical cannabis for patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding, making South Dakota the only state in the US to explicitly impose such a restriction.
A third bill bars recommending physicians from offering discounts or other financial incentives tied to their services. The Governor also vetoed a separate piece of legislation that had sought to raise the permissible THC levels in legal hemp products.
South Dakota voters passed a citizens' initiative to legalise medical cannabis in 2020, a measure that Governor Noem had opposed at the time.
Kentucky
Kentucky's Democratic Governor Andy Beshear has signed legislation legalising medical cannabis in the state.
The bill, put forward by Republican Senator Stephen West, cleared the Senate before passing the House on March 30.
Beshear said: "In November, I signed an executive order to help Kentuckians with certain medical conditions – like our veterans suffering from PTSD – find safe and effective relief through medical cannabis.
"Now, I am finally able to sign this legislation into law and fully legalise medical cannabis – something the majority of Kentuckians support."
Under the new law, patients with a recommendation from a medical professional may be eligible to use cannabis if they live with conditions such as cancer, severe pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms or spasticity, chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting, and PTSD.
Montana
A proposed measure that would have effectively dismantled Montana's recreational cannabis industry and placed new limits on medical cannabis has failed in committee, MJBiz Daily reports.
Republican Senator Keith Regier introduced the bill on March 30 with the stated goal of seeking to "reduce the demand for marijuana sales" in the state by prohibiting all non-medical sales.
The legislation would have increased the medical cannabis sales tax from 4% to 20% and capped the potency of cannabis flower and concentrates at 10%. It would also have eliminated adult-use dispensaries and cut the number of plants adults are permitted to grow at home down to one.
Several senators raised concerns about overriding the will of Montana voters, who chose to legalise recreational cannabis in November 2020. The bill was ultimately defeated in committee by a vote of six to four.
