PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Health announced a preliminary list of conditions that will be covered by the state’s medical cannabis program, which goes into effect on July 1 following the voters’ passage of IM-26 last November.
“Under the law passed by the voters, patients must be experiencing a ‘debilitating medical condition’ and be certified by a doctor that medical cannabis will help alleviate their condition,” said South Dakota Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon. “This preliminary list of conditions meets the definition as passed by the voters, and is a result of feedback the department has already received. A process will be available for South Dakotans to petition to add more conditions to this list in the future.”
The preliminary list of conditions includes:
- Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV);
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease;
- Multiple sclerosis (MS);
- Cancer associated with severe or chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, or cachexia or severe wasting;
- Crohn’s disease;
- Epilepsy and seizures;
- Glaucoma; and
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
These conditions are in addition to the definition of “debilitating medical condition” as passed by the voters in IM-26, which is defined as, “A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following: cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe, debilitating pain; severe nausea; seizures; or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis.” The conditions listed above will be included in the final rules package proposed by the Department.
For more information on South Dakota’s medical cannabis program, visit MedCannabis.SD.gov.
