By Dave Baumeister, County Correspondent
SIOUX FALLS – Without as much to-do as at its first reading, the Minnehaha County Commission approved a new medical marijuana ordinance at this week’s meeting.
When the state finally takes action, the new regulation calls for cannabis sales establishments to have county-issued licenses before they can sell marijuana for medical use.
South Dakota voters approved sales for this type of marijuana use by an almost 70% majority in November 2020 when Initiated Measure 26 was passed.
While there were many specific legalities in the measure, it instructed the state legislature to come up with the specific rules.
However, the legislature failed to come up with those rules during its 2021 session earlier this year, leaving that work to separate committees.
IM 26 will still take affect as of July 1, at that time, small amounts (less than three ounces) of marijuana will be legal to possess for “medicinal purposes.” Although, since the legislature failed to put in any rules on how to determine what is a “medicinal” use, it would be difficult to prosecute many marijuana-related offenses.
Deputy Minnehaha County State’s Attorney has said on several occasions he believes that office will not be prosecuting offenses of that type after July 1 and until formal medical marijuana rules are in place.
The county’s new ordinance sets the groundwork for licensing establishments that sell marijuana when the state rules do take effect.
As it reads, the county’s ordinance states that establishments wishing to sell marijuana for medical purposes “shall be required to apply for a permit and/or license to operate…”
It further states that the county will begin accepting those applications no later than 60 days after the South Dakota Department of Health puts out rules, as required by IM 26.
That measure says those rules must be in place by Oct. 28.
At the public hearing for the ordinance, no one spoke in favor of the new regulation, and only one person spoke against it.
Once again, Sarah Koob of Sioux Falls, a proponent of medical marijuana said, “I’d rather you do nothing than passed this.”
Although she gave no explanation for this, in the past she said that she felt this ordinance gave the state “permission to drag its feet” in coming up with rules.
But Deputy State’s Attorney Eric Bogue, who drafted the resolution, originally advised the county against “doing nothing.”
This new ordinance does put a licensing requirement in place and opens the door to future regulations.
And in looking toward the state’s new regulations, a group representing Minnehaha County, the city of Sioux Falls and Lincoln County is now in place to look at other regulations that might be necessary.
Commissioners Gerald Beninga and Cindy Heiberger represent Minnehaha County on that board.
Where there’s smoke…
On a semi-related note, Bogue brought up possible problems that may exist with people smoking marijuana.
After July 1, when marijuana becomes legal for medicinal purposes, he felt commissioners may need to clarify where it is used.
Currently, by state, city and/or county regulations, smoking tobacco products, and often “vaping,” are illegal in public areas.
Those laws do not address smoking marijuana, though.
Bogue asked if commissioners wanted him to draft an ordinance that dealt with that, and the consensus was that he do so.
No specific guidelines were addressed for Bogue, but commissioners seemed to want something in line with current ordinances on tobacco use.
Never Ass/U/Me
An extremely unusual situation led to commissioners making some lien adjustments for a petitioner looking to buy a new home.
The petitioner had two liens against him, which needed to be taken care of before that house could close.
And both liens dealt with a situation from a perceived divorce.
The first lien for $1,236 went back to a lien incurred by his “previous spouse.”
The second lien was for a hospital bill incurred by his “current wife” for $10,729.
However, in his recent dealings looking into the liens, the petitioner learned that he was never divorced from his first wife.
As explained by Assistant County Administrator Melinda Storley, his first wife originally initiated the divorce proceedings, but before the decree was finalized, her attorney removed himself from her case, and the final decree was never realized.
A notice of this was sent to the lien petitioner, but it was sent to an incorrect address, so he never received notification.
This, in-turn, meant his marriage to his second wife was not valid.
In his compromise, he agreed to fully pay the first lien, but he asked that the second lien be forgiven, since he was not legally married to the person who garnered the hospital bills.
The petitioner, who was present, told commissioners that he had straightened out many things in his life, and even though he was older, this would be the first house he owned.
Commissioners questioned him about the home loan and learned that since it would be solely in his name, they unanimously voted to accept the payment on the first lien, and to transfer the second lien out of his name to that of the woman he now considers his wife.
Commissioner Jeff Barth pointed out that with liens, the county is always happy if they are receiving regular payments, no matter how small.
In the past, Barth and other commissioners had emphasized that there is no interest charged on liens.
At the meeting, he seemed quite happy with this compromise, which would let him move ahead with the closing on his new home.
But he added he would now be looking at straightening out the situations with his marriages.
The next commission meeting will be on Tuesday, June 22, at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the Minnehaha County Administration Building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
All meetings are open to the public, and there is always an agenda item for public input.
