South Dakota’s medical marijuana program has quickly outpaced projections. According to the State Department of Health, 11,500 South Dakotan’s now hold valid medical marijuana cards across the state. That is well ahead of DOH projections, which estimated just 6,000 card holders by 2024. the program began issuing cards in November of 2021, after voters overwhelmingly passed medical marijuana during the 2020 election. According to the DOH the most common reason medical marijuana patients are seeking cards includes cancer, chronic pain, seizures, multiple sclerosis and severe muscle spasms.
