A cardholder is not subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty of any kind, or denial of any right or privilege, including any civil penalty or disciplinary action by a court or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for:

(l) The medical use of cannabis in accordance with this chapter, if the cardholder does not possess more than the allowable amount of cannabis, and if any cannabis plant is either cultivated in an enclosed, locked facility or is being transported;

Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 34-20G-2

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Medical use: includes the acquisition, administration, cultivation, manufacture, delivery, harvest, possession, preparation, transfer, transportation, or use of cannabis or paraphernalia relating to the administration of cannabis to treat or alleviate a registered qualifying patient's debilitating medical condition or symptom associated with the patient's debilitating medical condition. See South Dakota Codified Laws 34-20G-1
  • Person: includes natural persons, partnerships, associations, cooperative corporations, limited liability companies, and corporations. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2

(2) Reimbursement by a registered qualifying patient to the patient’s registered designated caregiver for direct costs incurred by the registered designated caregiver for assisting with the registered qualifying patient’s medical use of cannabis;

(3) Transferring the cannabis to a testing facility;

(4) Compensating a dispensary or a testing facility for goods or services provided;

(5) Selling, transferring, or delivering cannabis seeds produced by the cardholder to a cultivation facility or dispensary; or

(6) Offering or providing cannabis to a cardholder for a registered qualifying patient’s medical use, to a nonresident cardholder, or to a dispensary if nothing of value is transferred in return and the person giving the cannabis does not knowingly cause the recipient to possess more than the allowable amount of cannabis.

Source: Initiated Measure No. 26, approved Nov. 3, 2020, eff. Jul. 1, 2021.