Tribal-issued medical marijuana cards won’t protect everyone
3 min read
Medical marijuana ID cards issued by Native American tribes are not recognized by South Dakota State Troopers unless someone is enrolled in the tribe issuing the cards.
Just hours before a new medical marijuana law goes into effect Thursday, Governor Kristi Noem’s government broke its silence on how it would steer cannabis enforcement while the Ministry of Health works to enforce a state medical marijuana program. And while a tribal medical marijuana program in South Dakota doesn’t prohibit non-tribal members from participating, state law enforcement agencies use their own rules to enforce cannabis laws off the reservation.
South Dakota’s new medical marijuana law provides that non-residents issued by other state jurisdictions are valid and anyone who owns one who is found to have less than three ounces of cannabis will not be arrested. But the Highway Patrol takes a different approach to non-resident tribal maps.
More:Medical marijuana sales begin Thursday on South Dakota tribal land
“In this case, the card’s destination applies to non-residents as long as the cardholder is a registered tribe member and presents an unexpired medical cannabis card from the resident’s tribe,” said a press release on Wednesday evening.
However, the press release states that if the person has less than 3 ounces, has a debilitating medical condition, and has the medical condition from a licensed medical practitioner, those without a medical cannabis card will not be arrested by Highway Patrol.
The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe in Moody County issues tribal medical marijuana ID cards to non-tribal members. The tribe’s attorney general Seth Pearman said the tribal cards would protect anyone authorized to do so across the state from arrest.
Pearman told the Argus leader on Wednesday that the Highway Patrol would violate the provisions of the Codified Law of South Dakota, Chapter 34-20G, if they arrested non-tribal members with valid medical marijuana identification issued by the tribe.
“The tribe’s health cards are backed by medical recommendations from doctors or health cards from other states,” he said. “And so they meet legal standards (in South Dakota law) including defense against criminal prosecution.”
So far, Noem’s team has responded to cannabis enforcement questions by suggesting individuals contact a private attorney.
The framework revealed by the governor states that “Highway Patrol personnel will not arrest a South Dakota resident at the location of a stop or interaction who cannot present an unexpired cannabis medical ID” as long as three conditions are met:
- The individual has no more than three ounces of natural and unmodified marijuana as defined in SDCL 22-42-1;
- The individual claims at the time of the interaction that the medical cannabis is intended to treat or alleviate a debilitating medical condition as defined by the Department of Health;
- The individual prepares printed or electronic documentation related to the debilitating health status from a licensed medical practitioner.
“As my team continues to implement the medical cannabis program as quickly and responsibly as possible, we are finding that there are still questions about how it will work for law enforcement as well as the citizens they protect and serve,” said Noem in a statement. “This framework will help answer questions law enforcement officers may have. And for the people who are hurt and are hoping for relief, it will also answer some of their questions about what the implementation will look like for them. “
No other law enforcement agency is required to follow or emulate Highway Patrol’s cannabis enforcement guidelines. For example, in Sioux Falls and Minnehaha Counties, authorities have said They will no longer bring charges against adults found in possession of three ounces or lessfrom Thursday, regardless of the health insurance status.
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