Among the numerous restrictions legislators are proposing to whittle away at Initiated Measure 26, the medical marijuana measure that South Dakota voters passed in 2020, is House Bill 1094, filed Friday by Representatives Rhonda Milstead (R-9/Wall Lake) and Fred Deutsch (R-4/your kids’ school bathroom). HB 1094 would ban the possession and medical use of cannabis on any school grounds public or private, at any school activity, or at any indoor or outdoor recreational and cultural facilities used by children. HB 1094 then reaches far afield and bans smoking or vaping cannabis in the outdoor living area of any private residence within 1,000 feet of any school, preschool, playground, or other facilities off-limitized by this bill.
Come on, Rhonda and Fred: your party tells us that gun-free zones get people killed. Surely cannabis-free zones will only get people high.
Speaking of guns, South Dakota law currently says 660 feet is safe enough distance to separate active shooters from homes and livestock, and lawmakers have a tough time fielding a majority to expand that safety zone to a mere 900 feet. Federal law sets school gun-free zones at 1,000 feet. Medical marijuana has far less lethal range than bullets, yet Milstead and Deutsch think kids need more insulation from cancer patients visiting Dr. Doobage than from Gooney McBuckshot leaping from his truck to blast Mr. Ringneck?
HB 1094 provides exceptions to the school cannabis-free zones for medical cannabis cardholder students complying with a conspicuously posted official school policy.
House Health and Human Services takes up HB 1094 along with three other medical cannabis bills tomorrow (Thursday), 7:45 a.m., Capitol Room 412.
I was wrong about John Thune leaving for the private sector so I’m probably wrong that South Dakota Republicans can’t write cannabis laws that Kristi Noem will sign. South Dakota’s Republican governor believes white people in the state are too stupid to grow or regulate the herb. Nevertheless several South Dakota communities are pondering zoning ordinances in anticipation of decisions by the state’s psychotic legislature and by a governor who would simply jury rig a mechanism that allows pharmacies to dispense edibles and topicals but no flower or smoking.
A guy who’s even uglier than Jim Bolin, Nebraska’s cannaphobic Republican governor has softened a bit on therapeutic cannabis.
https://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/gov-ricketts-open-to-considering-medical-marijuana-bill/article_ef8b5034-2c39-5006-af95-9063c08070a9.html
Cannabis cannot be banned by bit
Vote to legalize it
Demonize it say the grudz
1000 feet is a fudge
It grows as a weed
All you need is seed
Screw you legislation bitches
Keep it in your britches
Mary Jane it grows in every lane
It’s not a bane it’s a heaven
Hallelujah sings the Willie Hugh Nelson
It’s a dizzying amount of verbiage that violates the single subject rule. Just for that reason, I oppose it. I like the concept of schools not being considered a pot or booze dispensary. And I don’t mind a buffer zone. Booze is probably the far larger issue for kids than pot. I wonder if the 1,000 foot rule should apply to stores where liquor is sold.
Misused opioids or even ADHD medication threatens school children; those are not banned from schools. In fact, we recognize a general principle that medicine helps people and given students are at their schools from 8:00 – 3:30 (ash), they (and their schools’ staff) very well may need medication during that period. Schools dispense properly prescribed medicines to students; legal medical marijuana should fall under that umbrella.
This interference and silliness of defining medicine/good medicine/moral medicine has to be taken out of the hands of the legislature.
How about a state law that prohibits school being missed for chiropractor visits. Let’s restrict that “medicine” as well from impressionable children.
Meanwhile, I inquired of my Avera physician how, once all the hoops have been hooped re medical marijuana, how to get a medical marijuana card. I received the following:
“Dr. ___ will not be providing any medical marijuana cards as this substance is not federally legal or FDA approved for the treatment of any conditions.”
So we’re screwed, no matter what.
O, properly prescribed FDA-approved medication is fine, but allowing students to smoke up in school, no.
Fred Deutsch needs a hobby so he can obsess over that instead of weed and genitals.
If we make the “cannabis free zones” big enuf, perhaps we can push the boundaries back to the borders of ND/NE/MN/WY. Now THAT would be a true Kristi-sized free zone.
They don’t understand that their ‘blessing’ has never been needed anyways. We have never needed their growing permits, we’ve gotten by fine and dandy without the man putting his greedy, limy hooks in a harmless supplemental enterprise.
Its like your boss finally shows up for the first time after years on the job and wants to show you how to clean the coffeepot and turn on the computer.
Just whip out your pad and take notes anyways to stuff their hubris. The sooner they’re inflated, they’ll get out of your way so you can get back to work.
As a matter of fact, as a teacher, I have never needed permission for doing our morning ritual of stretching, breathing and going along with whatever the student leader of the day chose to calm and focus us as a class. This usually entailed gathering chi and throwing it to each other or pushing out negative energy. Without permission, I encouraged my kids to bring rituals or practices from home to show us and I always had parents and other staff hanging out to join our five minute morning exercise. One student taught us how to say affirmations. We loved it. Never had a complaint of forcing any unwanted religion on my kids. On the contrary, parents and students felt proud when their culture was acknowledged with curiosity. Sharing and accepting everyone’s values made us a community of love and respect and that is what facilitates freedom to learn.
Weed isn’t for everyone, neither is religion. People who feel entitled to dictate personal, private issues probably screw their own sister. Most people don’t need a law to tell them what’s right and wrong. Most people just know it’s wrong to screw their sister. When someone wants to control others and tell them what to do, I highly suspect they’re the deviant.
Marijuana use in middle and high schools in Sioux Falls is out of control. It doesn’t matter what they do. The cops don’t enforce it and only send the kids home. Parents say things like, “I told them not to do it at school.” On and on.
Come on Steve, you continue to put words in other people’s mouths. I’m sure those parent’s are much more concerned about CRT than Marijuana. Unless they are Libertarians of course, you know, Repubs that smoke dope.
@Eve – And I apologize to the blog for the tedious mentions of Colorado, so often. But we were the first to legalize and all the things SD is dealing with (except the contrary politicians) CO went through.
– Medical marijuana was legal in Colorado for three years before even one doctor would write a prescription. It was an angry gynecologist/abortionist who got booted from his medical group of physicians for some malpractice violation who just said, “Eff it. I know how to make money, anyway!”
I just read that the city of Worthing has voted to allow 1, (one) medical MJ dispensaries IF it is 1000 YARDS (3000 ft., 3/5 mile) from any school or daycare. I.E., nowhere in the town at all. So clever.
How does one ban a grandparent or veteran from taking a prescription drug to treat chronic pain from taking a gummy within 1000 feet of a school zone?
Meanwhile . . . the republican crazies in Wisconsin are bent on authorizing guns, concealed guns, in high schools.
https://www.salon.com/2022/01/24/wisconsin-pass-bill-allowing-some-high-school-students-to-bring-a-to-campus/
Just watch. Next they’ll authorize guns in court rooms and the legislature. We won’t need any rules or laws, just a bigger, faster gun.
These republicans are beyond rabid.
John, In case you missed it a few years back, the SD legislature already authorized guns in the Capitol building. Wisconsin’s got nuthin’ on SDS Right wing nuttiness.
Pot use is about the same in teens over the last several years, but other illegal drugs are down. Teen use of marijuana is not good for their developing brains, but it is far better than gun use by teens, which has gotten more and more popular. Republicans and the gun lobby are gun pushers
It seems perfectly obvious that Republicans in South Dakota’s anal retentive legislature believe white adults are far too stupid to grow, test, harvest, manufacture, smoke or eat let alone regulate therapeutic cannabis in Lee Schoenbeck’s fiefdom.
https://www.keloland.com/news/capitol-news-bureau/senators-take-away-some-im-26-safeguards/
Donald Pay – Living in the authoritarian propaganda-driven state of SD is not good for teens’ developing brains.
And down goes Deutsch; down goes Deutsch! Anti-gummy bill is defeated.