There’s a kind of shockwave going through our local community at the moment, because most of the invited speakers were from outside of State.
By Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight
Representatives of South Dakota medical marijuana businesses said they were alarmed Wednesday after a state committee that oversees the industry spent much of an all-day meeting listening to invited speakers who warned about health risks and other dangers.
Emmett Reistroffer of Genesis Farms, Sioux Falls spoke at the conclusion of the meeting during the session for public comments.
His phone was flooded with messages. The speakers invited were mostly from outside the state. “There is a sort of shockwave that’s going around our community,” he said.
Reistroffer said that he is also concerned about the involvement of the committee in an effort to limit or repeal the medical marijuana program in the state, approved by voters in 2020. The state has implemented the program in 2022. Currently, there are 16 477 patient cards in the State.
Reistroffer had to be cut off after his comments by Rep. Josephine Garcia of Watertown. She is the Chairwoman for the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee.
Garcia stated that there was no agenda for this meeting other than to do what wasn’t done at the time this program first launched. This was the only thing I intended to achieve. You’re wrong if you suggest that I, the chairperson, said or organized something. Public awareness is the goal. It is important to ensure public safety.
Speakers on the panel included retired officers of law enforcement and doctors from various states. The speakers expressed concerns over prescriptions, access to youth, the impact mental health has, as well as the blurring lines between recreational and medical use.
Ed Moses, retired Missouri law enforcement officer, spoke about the dangers associated with marijuana. He claimed that medical marijuana was a “Trojan Horse” for recreational marijuana.
The committee heard him say that “marijuana has the power to change our identity and values.”
Karen Randall is an emergency medicine doctor from Colorado. She said that she has seen adults and children in the emergency department due to incidents involving marijuana. She related a case of a child who bought a marijuana candy at the back end of the dispensary and ended up in emergency.
Randall stated that Colorado is now overcrowded with marijuana products and the drug has become the choice of kids in Colorado.
“They’re not drinking, they’re not smoking like they used to—they’re using marijuana,” she said.
John Duncan is a University of Oklahoma College of Medicine professor who advised that medical marijuana be treated like other medications. This includes the prescribed dosage. John Duncan also warned the committee to be aware of synthetic marijuana, which can have a variety of side effects.
Libby Stuyt is a Colorado-based addiction psychiatrist who told the Committee that marijuana does not treat posttraumatic stress disorder as medical marijuana advocates claim. She said patients who are prescribed medical marijuana for mental health disorders often mistake the feeling of withdrawal for needing more medicine—blurring treatment and addiction.
James Nold, the Sioux Falls superintendent was also on Wednesday’s line-up. He stated that marijuana is a growing problem among students, who are able to access the product through their parents.
Jeremiah Murphy – who represents the medical marijuana sector – told members of the committee during the period for public comments that they should be proud of the program.
He added, “If we think back to the program you just heard they didn’t really hit a home run on South Dakota.” They showed you the real and significant problems that exist in Oklahoma.
Reistroffer said the medical marijuana industry is taking heat for local “smoke shops” selling illegal products, including those with hemp-derived but chemically modified ingredients. He claims that these shops are selling “candy bar” products and high doses of marijuana to lure children.
He stated, “We don’t belong to them but we get painted by their paintbrush.”
The Committee did not make any formal recommendations or vote during its meeting. The committee’s members are appointed by the Legislature’s Executive Board. The membership includes legislators and non-legislators, with state law requiring membership from the medical, counseling, law enforcement and patient communities.
South Dakota Searchlight was the first to publish this article.
Brian Shamblen is the photographer.