A South Dakota House committee has rejected a proposal that would have eliminated medical marijuana as a legal defense in cannabis-related prosecutions.
The House Judiciary Committee voted 8 to 4 to defer House Bill 1123 to the 41st legislative day, effectively killing the measure for this session. The bill, introduced by Representative Fitzgerald with seven cosponsors (all Republican), would have repealed the ability of medical marijuana patients to use their status as a defense in court when charged with cannabis-related offenses.
If passed, the bill would have eliminated sections of the state’s medical marijuana law that allow patients to assert a medical purpose for using cannabis when facing prosecution. Under current law, individuals with a bona fide doctor-patient relationship who meet certain conditions—such as possessing only legally allowed amounts—can use their medical status as a defense. The bill aimed to repeal this protection, even for registered patients.
South Dakota voters legalized medical marijuana in 2020, and the program has been operational since 2021. This latest legislative effort is part of a broader push by some lawmakers to scale back or restrict the state’s medical marijuana program. However, the committee’s decision signals that there is still significant support for maintaining existing patient protections.
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