South Dakota Hires Company to Regulate Medical Marijuana

As the State of South Dakota gets ready to implement its medical marijuana program, a company familiar with running the operation in other states has signed on to regulate the program here.

According to Green Market Report, the state has signed an agreement with Lakeland, Florida-based Metrc to deal with the regulation of the state’s medical cannabis market.

The company currently has agreements with 19 other states to run similar programs.

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Metrc will be using its track-and-trace platform to help run the South Dakota medical cannabis program’s data collection and regulatory oversight by tracking when plants are harvested and packaged or combined with other plants in the production of oils, edibles, concentrates, and other CPG cannabis products.

The program will then report that information to state regulators and operators.

In a Metrc press release, CEO Jeff Wells said:

'As South Dakota continues to ramp up their recently implemented medical cannabis market, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to spearhead the state’s first-ever track-and-trace program.

Our team at Metrc is looking forward to working closely with the Departments of Health and Revenue, state regulators, and licensed operators to implement a strong regulatory framework that will effectively guide South Dakota’s newly emerging medical market down the path to success.'

In November of 2020, South Dakota voters passed Initiated Measure 26 by an overwhelming 69.1 percent to 30.1 percent margin, making marijuana legal for those residents with debilitating medical conditions, effective July 1, 2021.

In January of 2022, the state began issuing the first medical cannabis establishment registration certificates to businesses from all over South Dakota.