Bill to ban sale of pot-like Delta-9 to minors is on path to easy passage
Legislation would put offense on par with selling alcohol to underage buyers
PIERRE — A bill to ban the sale of marijuana-like products to minors could sail through the South Dakota Senate without debate.
Senate Bill 45 would add delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinolic acid to the list of hemp-derived intoxicants illegal to purchase for people younger than 21. The bill, proposed by Attorney General Marty Jackley, would amend a law that already bars the sale of other hemp-derived compounds that create a marijuana-like high, among them Delta-8, Delta-10, THC-O acetate and hexahydrocannabinol.
The sale of such products to minors, under the terms of the bill, would be a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. That’s the same level of criminal offense affixed to the sale of alcohol to minors.
Possession of the hemp-derived products by a minor would be a class 2 misdemeanor, which is the lowest level of criminal offense in South Dakota law with a potential 30-day jail sentence and $500 fine.
Jackley initially proposed felony penalties for retailers who sell to minors, but he told the Senate Judiciary Committee that discussions with defense lawyers and business leaders convinced him to ask for an amendment to put violations on par with alcohol sales.
There were concerns about the implications of felony charges for businesses with beer or liquor licenses, Jackley said.
“I think this is an appropriate response,” he told the committee. “And like always, we hope this has a deterrent value.”
The committee first approved Jackley’s amendment, then approved the bill, with unanimous support from all members present. No one testified in opposition, clearing a path for the bill to appear on the Senate’s consent calendar.
Bills on the consent calendar are passed in bulk with a single vote and no debate in the chamber, unless a lawmaker requests that a bill be pulled out for discussion.
Changing landscape for hemp
Lawmakers in Pierre passed a bill in 2024 that makes it a class 2 misdemeanor for anyone to sell — but not to possess — products containing intoxicating, hemp-derived substances, which have exploded in popularity in recent years thanks in part to a 2018 federal farm bill that legalized hemp.
The hemp plant is related to marijuana, but contains far less THC, a compound whose Delta-9 version is responsible for the high produced by the consumption of marijuana.
Once hemp became legal to sell at the federal level through the farm bill, companies began distilling CBD, a non-intoxicating substance present in hemp, to produce THC derivatives like Delta-8 and hemp-derived Delta-9, the latter of which is chemically indistinguishable from traditional marijuana’s marquee intoxicant.
Hemp-derived intoxicants are now found in vape pens, gummies and smokable hemp, similar to traditional marijuana.
Delta-9 THC drinks are among the more visible signs of the products’ popularity, available at bars and some grocery and liquor stores in South Dakota. Backers of the 2024 bill banning the sale of hemp-derived THC products said at the time that the beverages are outside the scope of the ban because their THC isn’t chemically extracted.
States across the U.S., South Dakota among them, have grappled with regulations for hemp-based products. On the federal level, lawmakers in Washington passed a bill that’s set to redefine hemp to exclude any product with too much THC, and to limit the amount of THC in individual products to 0.4 milligrams per serving by Nov. 13.
For context, a low-dose Delta-9 drink contains between 2.5 to 5 milligrams per serving, and 10 milligram versions are frequently found alongside them in grocery and liquor stores.
Lawmakers in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate , including Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, have proposed legislation pushing back the implementation of the new federal rules until 2028.
Industry analysts said last year that the law change would wipe out 95 percent of the $28.4 billion hemp industry. South Dakota businesses said the new federal rules would rip away access to products that “consumers said loud and clear that they want.”
Back in South Dakota, Piedmont state Sen. John Carley, a Republican, has introduced a bill to ban the sale, production, possession or use of any hemp-derived intoxicant, using the 0.4 milligram intoxicant limit used by Congress, unless the user has a medical marijuana card. A hearing on that bill is scheduled for Wednesday morning in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
— This story was originally published on southdakotasearchlight.com.
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