South Dakota Senate Health thwarts attempt to ban ‘homegrow’ for medical marijuana

State Sen. Erin Tobin said she has worked in an emergency room a dozen years, and has seen marijuana problems “maybe three times.”

But alcohol-related?

“We deal with alcohol problems day in and day out,” said Tobin, R-Winner. “But that’s a personal choice.”

And moments later the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 2, killed a bill, 4-2, that would’ve prohibited a key provision in the voter-approved medical cannabis program, namely the right to grow marijuana plants at home.

Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence, had brought House Bill 1004 with the backing of law enforcement and the state’s municipal league. While the bill did not come endorsed by the summer study committee, it nevertheless passed out the House of Representatives earlier this session.

On Wednesday, Deutsch unfurled a familiar gallery of opponents, including the sheriff’s office that had sued two years ago to overturn Initiated Measure 26.

“It’s possible to grow large amounts of marijuana on a plant,” said Captain Tony Harrison of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. “This is one of the issues that can’t be regulated because they can’t be watched.”

Opponents to the measure also were familiar to observers of the marijuana fight over the last year, including industry representatives. [Read more at Mitchell Republic]