Introduction
As someone who moved here from Colorado in 2017, I have been missing access to quality MMJ. Originally acquiring my first Medical Marijuana card in 2010, I was a Colorado MMJ Patient for over 5 years. Upon moving to South Dakota, those rights were taken away from me for the unforeseeable future. Then, the IM26 campaign took off in 2019.
After a long political fight and over 2 years of grassroots efforts, the South Dakota Medical Marijuana program is officially on its feet and patients have the opportunity to acquire a license for the possession and consumption of medical cannabis. As a citizen of the state, I was skeptical of how to acquire my MMJ card. After some research, and the help from some friends, I found the path to my medicine and you can do the exact same thing! Follow this guide and you too will soon be a South Dakota Medical Marijuana patient.
Qualifying as a Patient
The first thing you need to become a qualifying medical patient is a qualifying condition. The conditions include HIV/AIDS, cancer, debilitating pain, severe nausea, wasting syndrome, seizures, muscle spasms, and more. Understanding these qualifications is key. You don’t have to be directly diagnosed with “debilitating pain” but it can be a symptom of many issues and still allow you to qualify. For Example, Chrons, chronic back pain, fracturing pain from previously broken bones, nausea from medication, and many more. If you have a medical condition that relates to or has symptoms of, any of the qualifying conditions you qualify!
If your diagnosis has been recognized and recorded in your medical records you can move on to setting up an appointment. If not, you need to have your medical issues pre-verified with a regular physician and recorded to move on to the next step.
Finding a Doctor
You have the medical records, now you need the doctor’s recommendation to the state to begin your patient profile with the state. 99% of regular physicians in the state of South Dakota will not complete that recommendation. This was my issue. I don’t have a regular physician and could not find one that would take the time to fill out the state portal until I found MyMarijuanaCards.com.
MyMarijuanaCards.com is a company that specializes in staffing offices with compassionate physicians willing to recommend patients for South Dakota Medical Marijuana Cards. Their process is streamlined and it was the easiest patient recommendation I’ve ever experienced. I visited the doctor on Friday, got approval from the state for the doctor recommendation before leaving the office, completed the patient part of the state registration from home, and was approved for my MMJ card Saturday afternoon. My Medical Marijuana License showed up in the mail the next week!
How To Grow and MyMarijuanaCards.com have teamed up and are now scheduling appointments for Thursdays and Fridays in Rapid City. Walk-ins are welcome also! If you would like to schedule an appointment click the link below to see the available times and dates.
Book Your Appointment Here!
Completing the Patient Portal
Upon receiving your doctor’s recommendation, you will be sent an email from the South Dakota Department of Health. You are required to complete this step yourself. This includes uploading a picture copy of your ID, a passport-style picture for your MMJ card, selecting caregivers or a regular dispensary, home cultivation details, and paying the state license fee. The process is pretty painless, and you can find step-by-step instructions here.
Home Cultivation
When it comes to home cultivation the state portal asks for some intimate details, some of which you might not have figured out completely, but that’s ok. To cultivate at home all you need to do is have an idea of the area where you would like to grow, and be sure it has a keyed lock on the door. The state will ask you to submit a picture of the door to the cultivation and a diagram of the grow space. It’s weird, I know.
Take a picture of the door with a clearly visible lock and you are good to go there. For the diagram, keeping it simple is best. The main components the diagram needs to include are four walls, the locked door, the expected plant area, and room dimensions. Check out the example below for a better understanding.
Extended Plant Count
To acquire an extended plant count the patient is required to submit research to justify the needed extra plants. The fact that there are no available dispensaries and the original plant count is so low, at 3 plants, it doesn’t take much to justify the need. Do your research, collect the articles, and bring them with you to the doctor’s visit. You can discuss the documentation you have collected with the physician who then can choose to allow the extended plant count. The extended plant count is only valid for 200 days. Be sure to set your calendar as you will have to renew the recommendation before it expires.
These were the rules before the legislature removed the extended plant count option in the 2022 legislative session. Now you cannot apply for an extended plant count. If you acquire home cultivation you have a maximum of 4 plants with only 2 in flower. Caregivers can manage up to 5 patients giving them a maximum of 20 plants.
To become a caregiver, you have to go through an individual registration directly with the Department of Health, become approved, and have patients register you in their medical patient portal as their caregiver.
Congratulations!
You are now equipped with all the information needed to successfully get your medical marijuana patient rights in the state of South Dakota. My wife and I were ecstatic to receive our recommendation from MyMarijuanaCards.com. After Volunteering countless hours to collect petition signatures, visiting local government meetings, and finally voting for our rights we have succeeded.
If you are interested in home cultivation come in or call us today at (605) 348-2358. We can help you get set up with all your growing equipment, medicinal seeds, and the tools for success. Speak with one of our sales representatives and get your custom tent kit started!
If you have any questions about this process leave them in the comment section below. Thanks for reading and hope this helps you get the medicine you need.
