South Dakota Lawmakers Shoot Down Telehealth Marijuana Bill

South Dakota lawmakers have rejected a bill that would have allowed healthcare providers in the state to use telehealth to prescribe medical marijuana.

The state’s House of Representatives shot down HB 1147 last week by a 38-30 vote, one day after the House Health and Human Services committee approved the bill by a 7-6 vote. The Legislature’s action follows last year’s statewide vote that saw 69 percent approve medical marijuana use.

State Rep. Drew Dennert, who sponsored the bill, said it would give residents a connected health option to talk to their care providers about medical marijuana, and that it provide a safe alternative to an in-person visit during the coronavirus pandemic.

But opponents said they don’t want providers prescribing marijuana via telehealth.

“I don’t believe it’s ready for prime time,” State Rep. Paul Miskimins said shortly before the vote, according to KELO News.

Roughly 31 states currently allow providers to use telehealth to treat patients with medical marijuana, though some of those measures are in place only as long as the public health emergency.

Some states, such as Virginia, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois and Washington, have drafted telehealth legislation specifically banning providers from prescribing or dispensing medical marijuana through a virtual visit. Others, like New Mexico and Hawaii, allow telehealth to be used after the provider and patient have met in person, while New York and New Jersey allow for telehealth without a prior meeting.

“Many medicinal marijuana patients suffer from conditions that limit mobility, making frequent visits to the doctor’s office a significant barrier to the medicine they need,” New Jersey State Assembly Members Pamela Lampitt and Joann Downey said last September, when the state Legislature passed their bill to allow telehealth use. These patients, they said, “are some of our most vulnerable patients and are typically the ones whose access to medical marijuana is restricted by the requirement to renew their prescription in-person at their doctor’s office.”

“The pain relief, muscle relaxation, nausea prevention and anxiety reduction of medical marijuana are too important to the people suffering from severe medical conditions to be hindered by in-person doctor visitation requirements,” the lawmakers added. “This bill will utilize today’s technology to help provide easier access to this beneficial medication on behalf of the people who need it the most.”