PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Proposed changes to the rules surrounding medical cannabis would allow for the possession of higher amounts of some forms of cannabis, make changes to language and fee amounts, and more.
Beyond revisions to definitions, the first major proposed changes come in the form of changes to the allowable quantity of cannabis products.
Quantities
Edible oils would see an increase from 5 grams net weight to 15 grams. Edible excluding oils would increase from 800 milligrams of THC to 2,000 milligrams. Topicals comprised of dried plant material or powder would be increased from 1 ounce to 16 ounces.
Non-renewal
Next is a proposed update regarding the non-renewal of an establishment, which says an establishment not seeking to renew their certificate will need to notify the DOH 45 days before the certificate expires.
Fees
Fees for registration certificates would be raised from $5,000 to $5,310 under the new proposed rules.
Establishments
A rule change in the area of establishment requirements would make it so that all scales used would need to be certified in accordance with state law.
Testing
A change to the rules surrounding testing would make the DEA accreditation window longer, allowing a testing facility 32 months to complete accreditation as opposed to the current 18 months.
Another change further states that a medical cannabis establishment would need to test every batch of product intended for sale prior to transfer and in their final form.
It would also be specified that the variance of THC content in a product cannot be more than 10% more or less than what the label claims.
Manufacturing
Perhaps the largest addition to the rules, a section would be added to the cannabis manufacturing rules requiring the use of unadulterated products.
What this section would do is ensure that no additives would be added to products by requiring that everything is made with unadulterated cannabis, concentrates and extracts.
“No botanical, synthetic, or artificial terpenes may be added to any cannabis product during the manufacturing process. No artificial, synthetic, or hemp-based cannabinoids, including Delta-8 THC, may be added to any cannabis product during the manufacturing process,” the draft reads.
The proposal does acknowledge that terpenes do occur naturally in cannabis plants.
A small tweak would also change the maximum allowed THC in an edible to 500 milligrams instead of the current 100.
Dispensaries
An added section dealing with dispensaries specifies that no sales of cannabis products could be sold at places that are not certified medical cannabis dispensaries.
Packaging
A proposed change would require packaging to be opaque in a way that the product cannot be seen without opening the package.
Labeling
Under the proposed rules, products would need to be labeled with expiration or use-by dates, which cannot be altered by an establishment.
Inventory
Establishments, under new rules, would need to keep inventory tracking tags with products until they are sold and shred the tags once the product is sold.
Plants in cultivation facilities will need to be tagged once the plant reaches one foot in height.
New condition repeals
The sections regarding the petition for new medical conditions and the Dept. of Health’s ability to add more are repealed in the new rules.
This is thanks to SB 1, which took the power to add new conditions out of the DOH’s hands and put it instead in the hands of the legislature. Previously, citizens would need to fill out a petition to have a condition added, which would then be reviewed by the DOH.
