FLANDREAU, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota’s first medical marijuana dispensary is set to open in Flandreau.
The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe announced Friday that it will open its first retail location and begin selling cannabis Thursday, the day medical marijuana becomes legal in South Dakota. The tribe said it’s already accepting applications for medical marijuana ID cards, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported.
The tribe’s program is independent of South Dakota’s new law and the system that the South Dakota Department of Health has until October to launch. The state is also awaiting a Supreme Court decision on whether recreational marijuana will become legal under a constitutional amendment approved by voters in November.
The Native Nations Cannabis Dispensary is about 45 miles north of Sioux Falls.
To qualify through the tribe, an applicant must first be certified by a medical professional to have “a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition.” Patients who might benefit from cannabis — such as those with AIDS, anorexia, arthritis, cancer, migraines and glaucoma — are eligible with a recommendation from anyone licensed to prescribe drugs.
Applications are on the tribe’s website. The fee is $50.
“The tribe’s goals for the development of cannabis is similar to other jurisdictions,” the tribe’s news release said. “It wants a safe product to produce revenue for tribal programs, to curtail black-market sales of cannabis, and to prevent illegal diversion, especially to children.”
