South Dakota Highway Patrol pushes limits on tribe’s medical marijuana identification cards

July 2, 2021

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration is guiding law enforcement officers not to honor Native American tribes’ medical cannabis identification cards if they are not issued to tribe members.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol released the guidance just hours before the voter-approved medical marijuana law took effect Thursday.

But it sets up a potential conflict between prosecutors and the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe.

The tribe has set up the state’s first marijuana dispensary and plans to issue medical cannabis ID cards to people who are not tribal members.