A new law barring the production or sale of high-inducing, hemp-derived cannabis products will take effect Monday after a judge declined to block it. Hemp Quarters 605, a Pierre-based shop that sells those products, filed a lawsuit earlier this month in U.S. District Court in South Dakota. The business claims the new law's provisions are unconstitutional and in conflict with federal law.
The 2018 federal farm bill legalized the production and sale of industrial hemp and hemp-derived products, provided they contain less than 0.3% of the intoxicating compound delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, by dry weight.
House Bill 1125, signed into law in March by Gov. Kristi Noem, targets five types of chemicals that appear at low levels in hemp plants. The chemicals can be synthesized and added in amounts large enough for hemp products to ape the intoxicating effects of the delta-9 THC found in marijuana.
Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, even though it's legal in some states and medical marijuana is legal in South Dakota. A violation of the new law will be a class 2 misdemeanor, the state's lowest-level criminal offense. Like most laws adopted by the Legislature, its effective date is July 1.
Read more at southdakotasearchlight.com