South Dakota § 34-20G-51 Medical purpose defense.

South Dakota Statutes

§ 34-20G-51 — Medical purpose defense.

South Dakota § 34-20G-51

Title 34PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY

Ch. 34-20FMEDICAL CANNABIS

This text of South Dakota § 34-20G-51 (Medical purpose defense.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

S.D. Codified Laws § 34-20G-51 (2026).

Text

Except as provided in § 34-20G-18 and this section, a person may assert the medical purpose for using cannabis as a defense to any prosecution involving cannabis, and such defense is presumed valid where the evidence shows that:

(1)A practitioner has stated that, in the practitioner's professional opinion, after having completed a full assessment of the person's medical history and current medical condition made in the course of a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship, the patient has a debilitating medical condition and the potential benefits of using cannabis for medical purposes would likely outweigh the health risks for the person;

(2)The person was in possession of no more than three ounces of cannabis, the amount of cannabis products allowed by department rules, two fl

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Except as provided in § 34-20G-18 and this section, a person may assert the medical purpose for using cannabis as a defense to any prosecution involving cannabis, and such defense is presumed valid where the evidence shows that: (1) A practitioner has stated that, in the practitioner's professional opinion, after having completed a full assessment of the person's medical history and current medical condition made in the course of a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship, the patient has a debilitating medical condition and the potential benefits of using cannabis for medical purposes would likely outweigh the health risks for the person; (2) The person was in possession of no more than three ounces of cannabis, the amount of cannabis products allowed by department rules, two flowering cannabis plants, two cannabis plants that are not flowering, and the cannabis produced by those plants; (3) The person was engaged in the acquisition, possession, use, manufacture, cultivation, or transportation of cannabis, paraphernalia, or both, relating to the administration of cannabis to treat or alleviate the person's debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the person's debilitating medical condition; and (4) Any cultivation of cannabis and storage of more than three ounces of cannabis occurred in a secure location that only the person asserting the defense could access.