South Dakota Codified Laws 34-20G-51. Medical purpose defense
Except as provided in § 34-20G-18 and this section, a person may assert the medical purpose for using cannabis as a defense to any prosecution involving cannabis, and such defense is presumed valid where the evidence shows that:
(1) A practitioner has stated that, in the practitioner’s professional opinion, after having completed a full assessment of the person’s medical history and current medical condition made in the course of a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship, the patient has a debilitating medical condition and the potential benefits of using cannabis for medical purposes would likely outweigh the health risks for the person;
Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 34-20G-51
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Person: includes natural persons, partnerships, associations, cooperative corporations, limited liability companies, and corporations. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
(2) The person was in possession of no more than three ounces of cannabis, the amount of cannabis products allowed by department rules, two flowering cannabis plants, two cannabis plants that are not flowering, and the cannabis produced by those plants;
(3) The person was engaged in the acquisition, possession, use, manufacture, cultivation, or transportation of cannabis, paraphernalia, or both, relating to the administration of cannabis to treat or alleviate the person’s debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the person’s debilitating medical condition; and
(4) Any cultivation of cannabis and storage of more than three ounces of cannabis occurred in a secure location that only the person asserting the defense could access.
Source: Initiated Measure No. 26, approved Nov. 3, 2020, eff. Jul. 1, 2021; SL 2022, ch 119, § 2.