Medical Marijuana Update

Stay tuned to find out if a South Dakota tribe’s medical marijuana cards are valid for non-members, and more.

[image:1 align:right]Missouri

Missouri Governor Vetoes Tax Relief Bill for Medical Marijuana Businesses. Gov. Mike Parsons (R) last Friday vetoed Senate Bill 226, which, among other things, would have lifted a bar on medical marijuana companies claiming business expenses on their taxes. Parsons didn’t mention the medical marijuana provision in his veto message, but instead cited a provision that would have provided tax relief to businesses that suffered losses because of public health restrictions, which he said could have “significant unintended consequences that could greatly harm localities.” The bill would not have altered federal tax law, which currently does not allow for such deduction by state-legal marijuana companies, but would have reduced state tax for such companies.

South Dakota

South Dakota Attorney General at Odds with Highway Patrol over Medical Marijuana Cards from Reservation Dispensary. Although the state Department of Public Safety, which oversees the state Highway Patrol, said last week that it would still arrest non-tribe members with tribal medical marijuana cards, the state’s top law enforcement official disagrees: “The tribe’s right to self-governance also gives it the authority the set the parameters of its medical marijuana program,” said Tim Bormann, chief of staff in the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office. “It appears, at this time, that South Dakota law enforcement would have to accept a tribal-issued card.” The position of the office is that arresting non-tribal members would violate the state’s nascent medical marijuana law, which says that until the state Health Department makes applications available, “a valid written certification issued within the previous year shall be deemed a registry identification card for a qualifying patient.”

South Dakota Attorney General Changes Mind About Validity of Tribal Medical Marijuana Cards. Only two days after he said state law enforcement would have to accept tribal-issued medical marijuana cards regardless of the cardholder’s tribal status, putting him at odds with the Highway Patrol, Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg has changed his mind. In a statement last Friday, his office said: “Contrary to current media reports, the Attorney General’s Office agrees with the South Dakota Highway Patrol’s framework for implementation of Initiated Measure 26,” and people with tribal medical cards who are not tribe members are still subject to arrest for marijuana possession. A word to all non-tribal medical marijuana cardholders: Obey all traffic laws.