South Dakota Gov. Signs Bills to Ban Intoxicating Hemp & Allow Cops to Search Medical Cannabis Businesses

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) this week signed two bills aimed at the medical cannabis and intoxicating hemp industries in the state.

Noem on Monday signed a bill that removes the prohibition on the ability of law enforcement and other government agencies to “search, seize, prosecute, or impose disciplinary action” on the state’s medical cannabis businesses. The bill passed the Senate 26-7 in January and 59-10 last month. The provisions included in the law protecting dispensaries, cultivators, manufacturers, and testing laboratories were included in the voter-backed law in 2022.  

The bill takes effect July 1.

On Tuesday, Noem signed legislation prohibiting the “chemical modification or conversion of industrial hemp and the sale or distribution of chemically modified or converted industrial hemp” effectively outlawing intoxicating hemp-derived products. Under the law, it is now illegal to “modify or convert industrial hemp … or engage in any process that converts” CBD into delta-8 THC, delta-9 THC, or delta-10 THC, or any other THC isomer, analog, or derivative. The measure unanimously passed the House in January and was nearly unanimous in the Senate last month, with only one lawmaker, Republican Majority Whip Ryan Maher, voting against the measure.

The bill includes penalties of up to one year in jail, a $2,000 fine, or both.