PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — A handful of new bills related to marijuana have been submitted in recent days, one of which would amend the definition of an abused or neglected child.

This bill, HB 1097, introduced by Republican Rep. Fred Deutsch, would amend existing law to state that any parent, guardian or custodian who “negligently or intentionally” allows a child to inhale, ingest, contact or access marijuana without a medical certification will have committed neglect or abuse.

Current law already includes a provision in which children subject to prenatal exposure to abusive use of alcohol, marijuana (which Deutsch removes in the bill) or any other non-prescribed controlled substance would be considered a victim of neglect or abuse, as well as a section describing children exposed to an environment used for manufacturing, using or distributing methamphetamines or any other illegally manufactured drug.

It is unclear what it would mean for a child to ‘contact’ marijuana under Deutsch’s bill. This bill was tabled by the House Judiciary on a 13-0 vote.

This was not Deutsch’s only marijuana bill of the session so far however. Of the nine bills submitted so far, 2/3 of them list him as prime sponsor.

Deutsch’s other bills include:

  • HB 1053, which would ban medical practitioners from recommending the use of marijuana to pregnant or breastfeeding mothers. This bill was amended in the House after passing the House Health and Human Services Committee, adding a clarification at the end of the bill. It been assigned to Senate Health and Human Services.
  • HB 1102, which adds extensive certification of a patient’s history, condition and treatment, which practitioners would be required to submit to the DOH prior to recommending the use of medical marijuana. This bill was withdrawn by Deutsch on Jan. 25.
  • HB 1129, which adds the certifications that were previously outlined in HB 1102. This was referred to House Health and Human Services.
  • HB 1132, which would add a provision requiring the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee (MMOC) to evaluate and make recommendations on medical and clinical aspects of the medical cannabis program. This was assigned to the House Health and Human Services Committee.
  • HB 1150, which would waive the application fee for a patient reapplying for a medical marijuana registry identification card. This has been referred to House Health and Human Services.

Two other new bills focused on marijuana have also been introduced:

  • HB 1154, brought by Republicans Rep. Greg Jamison and Rep. Jess Olson, would modify acceptable conduct for practitioners related to medical cannabis.
    • Essentially, this bill would add provisions to charge practitioners with a Class 2 misdemeanor if they offer discounts or deals for making an appointment, conduct an appointment in a space licensed for alcohol sales, or charges a patient ‘based on the term of a written certification issued to the patient.’
    • This bill has been sent to House Health and Human Services.
  • SB 134, sponsored by Republican Sen. Helene Duhamel looks to add more members of law enforcement to the MMOC.
    • Under current statute, four of the 14 members of the committee are law enforcement, comprising one Division of Criminal Investigation agent, one staff member from the Office of the Attorney General and two additional representatives of law enforcement.
    • The other members currently include three government officials (members of the House, Senate and Dept. of Health), two medical professionals (a practitioner with experience in the field of medical cannabis and a nurse), a member or officer of a cannabis testing facility, a person with medical cannabis policy experience, and three qualifying patients.
    • Duhamel would add two additional law enforcement officials, a Unified Narcotics Team agent and a school resource officer, bringing the MMOC to 16 members, 6 of which represent law enforcement.
    • This would make the committee 37.5% law enforcement, 18.75% government, 18.75% patients, 12.5% medical experts, and 6.25% each for testing officials and policy persons.
    • The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.