Representatives of South Dakota medical marijuana businesses said they were alarmed Wednesday after a state committee that oversees the industry spent much of an all-day meeting listening to invited speakers who warned about health risks and other dangers. Emmett Reistroffer, of Genesis Farms in Sioux Falls, spoke during the public comment session at the end of the meeting.
"My phone has been blowing up with text messages," he said. "There's kind of a shock wave going through our community right now, with the speakers that were invited, most of whom were out-of-state."
Reistroffer also said he fears the committee is involved in a coordinated effort to restrict or repeal the state's medical marijuana program, which voters approved in 2020 and the state implemented in 2022. There are currently 16,477 patient cards issued in the state. Reistroffer's comments resulted in the chairwoman of the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee, Rep. Josephine Garcia, R-Watertown, cutting him off.
"There has been no intention at all for any agenda this meeting, other than to follow what was not done when this program was first rolled out," Garcia said. "That was my only intention here. If you're insinuating that me, as the chair, have said something or orchestrated something, I have not done that. It is awareness for the public. This is a public safety issue."
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