Is Weed Legal in South Dakota? (2026)

Instrument

Medical cannabis cardholder protection, allowable amount, unauthorized conduct; possession of marijuana

Source

https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/34-20G-2.html

Retrieved

2026-11-07

Fingerprint

38db50aa6353cbef

SDCL 34-20G-2. Cardholders not subject to arrest, prosecution, penalty, or discipline for certain conduct

Cardholders not subject to arrest, prosecution, penalty, or discipline for certain conduct.
A cardholder is not subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty of any kind, or denial of any right or privilege, including any civil penalty or disciplinary action by a court or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for:
(l)    The medical use of cannabis in accordance with this chapter, if the cardholder does not possess more than the allowable amount of cannabis, and if any cannabis plant is either cultivated in an enclosed, locked facility or is being transported;
(2)    Reimbursement by a registered qualifying patient to the patient's registered designated caregiver for direct costs incurred by the registered designated caregiver for assisting with the registered qualifying patient's medical use of cannabis;
(3)    Transferring the cannabis to a testing facility;
(4)    Compensating a dispensary or a testing facility for goods or services provided;
(5)    Selling, transferring, or delivering cannabis seeds produced by the cardholder to a cultivation facility or dispensary; or
(6)    Offering or providing cannabis to a cardholder for a registered qualifying patient's medical use, to a nonresident cardholder, or to a dispensary if nothing of value is transferred in return and the person giving the cannabis does not knowingly cause the recipient to possess more than the allowable amount of cannabis.

Source:
Initiated Measure No. 26, approved Nov. 3, 2020, eff. Jul. 1, 2021.

SDCL 34-20G-1(1). Definitions: allowable amount of cannabis

(1)    "Allowable amount of cannabis,":
(a)    Three ounces of cannabis or less;
(b)    The quantity of cannabis products as established by rules promulgated by the department under §  34-20G-72;
(c)    If the cardholder has a registry identification card allowing cultivation, two flowering cannabis plants and two cannabis plants that are not flowering; and
(d)    If the cardholder has a registry identification card allowing cultivation, the amount of cannabis and cannabis products that were produced from the cardholder's allowable plants, if the cannabis and cannabis products are possessed at the same property where the plants were cultivated;

SDCL 34-20G-18. Unauthorized conduct

Unauthorized conduct.
This chapter does not authorize any person to engage in, and does not prevent the imposition of any civil, criminal, or other penalty for engaging in, the following conduct:
(1)    Undertaking any task under the influence of cannabis, when doing so would constitute negligence or professional malpractice;
(2)    Possessing cannabis or otherwise engaging in the medical use of cannabis in any correctional facility;
(3)    Smoking or vaping cannabis:
(a)    On any form of public transportation;
(b)    In any public place or any place that is open to the public; or
(c)    If under the age of twenty-one;
(4)    Operating, navigating, or being in actual physical control of any motor vehicle, aircraft, train, or motorboat while under the influence of cannabis; or
(5)    Performing any safety-sensitive job under the influence of cannabis.

Source:
Initiated Measure No. 26, approved Nov. 3, 2020, eff. Jul. 1, 2021; SL 2022, ch 116, § 2.

SDCL 22-42-6. Possession of marijuana prohibited

Possession of marijuana prohibited--Degrees according to amount.
No person may knowingly possess marijuana. It is a Class 1 misdemeanor to possess two ounces of marijuana or less. It is a Class 6 felony to possess more than two ounces of marijuana but less than one-half pound of marijuana. It is a Class 5 felony to possess one-half pound but less than one pound of marijuana. It is a Class 4 felony to possess one to ten pounds of marijuana. It is a Class 3 felony to possess more than ten pounds of marijuana. A civil penalty may be imposed, in addition to any criminal penalty, upon a conviction of a violation of this section not to exceed ten thousand dollars.

Source:
  SL 1970, ch 229, § 10 (c); SL 1971, ch 225, § 3; SL 1974, ch 269; SDCL Supp, §§ 39-17-95, 39-17-96; SL 1976, ch 158, §  42-6; SL 1977, ch 189, § 92; SL 1978, ch 158, § 16; SL 1983, ch 179; SL 1985, ch 187; SL 1986, ch 185, § 4; SL 1990, ch 166; SL 1998, ch 139, § 2.