Who’s Really Selling What? A Statewide Audit Request Hits South Dakota’s Cannabis Program

An open records request has been filed in South Dakota. Details and copy of the request sent via email to the Attorney General’s compliance desk, Department of Health, and the South Dakota Medical Cannabis Program Office are below.

Let’s get into it.

Mandatory Seed-to-Sale Tracking

The South Dakota Medical Cannabis Program requires licensed cannabis businesses (cultivators, manufacturers, dispensaries, etc.) to participate in a state seed-to-sale tracking system that follows each plant and product from cultivation through retail sale. 

✅ Metrc Is the State’s Official System

South Dakota has selected Metrc as its official seed-to-sale tracking system — the same platform used by many other states to enforce compliance and trace cannabis products throughout the supply chain (from seed all the way to final sale). 

This means:

Every licensed medical cannabis operator in SD must use Metrc.  Metrc tracks individual plants, batches, inventory, transfers, and sales.  It helps regulators verify compliance and prevent diversion from the legal market. 

✅ Seed-to-Sale Implementation Timeline

The state worked with Metrc and industry stakeholders to build and roll out a South Dakota-specific seed-to-sale system tied into the Medical Cannabis Program. 

✅ What This Means for Your Data Request

Because South Dakota uses Metrc seed-to-sale tracking, individual licensees report sales, inventory, and transfers into that system as part of regulatory compliance.

However:

✅ Metrc data are not publicly published online in raw form.

❌ You will not find public individual company sales reports accessible without an open-records request or state-provided export.

✅ WeedPress’s open-records request asking for establishment-level sales should cover the relevant Metrc data maintained by the SD Medical Cannabis Program.

In Plain Terms

South Dakota does have a seed-to-sale tracking system for its medical cannabis market, and the platform is Metrc — a regulated system that tracks every plant and product from cultivation through sale. 

You won’t find individual company sales dashboards online, but that data exists within Metrc and the state’s cannabis reporting systems — exactly what our open-records request is aimed at accessing.

To: MCQuestions@state.sd.us

Cc: DOHpublicrecords@state.sd.us

Subject: Open Records Request – Establishment-Level Medical Cannabis Sales Data (All SD Licensed Establishments, 2021–Present)

To Whom It May Concern,

This request is made pursuant to South Dakota Codified Laws § 1-27-1 (Public records open to inspection and copying) and SDCL § 1-27-1.1 (public records defined).

I respectfully request access to public records maintained by the South Dakota Department of Health / Medical Cannabis Program as follows:

Records Requested

For all licensed medical cannabis establishments in South Dakota, please provide all establishment-level sales/dispensing reports or datasets submitted to or maintained by the Medical Cannabis Program for the period January 1, 2021 through the present, including:

1. Dollar sales (gross receipts) by reporting period (monthly or quarterly, as maintained).
2. Product volume sold (e.g., grams/ounces or equivalent units), by reporting period.
3. Any available product category breakdowns (e.g., flower, concentrates, edibles, tinctures, etc.), if maintained.
4. Any available establishment-level summaries or exports from the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system that reflect the above information.

Format

Please provide the records in electronic format (CSV, XLSX, or PDF), whichever is most readily available.

Clarification

This request is limited to establishment-level sales/dispensing data and does not seek any personally identifiable patient information.

In the event of denial, please provide justification as required under SDCL § 1-27-37, cite the specific statutory basis for the denial, and provide all reasonably segregable non-exempt portions. 

If there are fees associated with fulfilling this request, please advise me of the estimated cost prior to processing.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Sincerely,

Jason Karimi

Follow up email for next week:

Subject: Follow-Up Open Records Request – Metrc Seed-to-Sale Sales Exports (All Establishments, 2021–Present)

This a follow-up and clarification to my prior open records request regarding establishment-level medical cannabis sales data.

Because South Dakota utilizes the Metrc seed-to-sale tracking system as its official cannabis compliance database, I respectfully request all available Metrc sales/dispensing export reports maintained by the South Dakota Medical Cannabis Program for the period January 1, 2021 through the present, for all licensed medical cannabis establishments statewide, including:

Dollar sales (gross receipts) by reporting period (monthly or quarterly, as maintained). Product volume sold (grams/ounces or equivalent units) by reporting period. Product category or item-type fields (e.g., flower, concentrates, edibles, tinctures, etc.), where available. Any standard Metrc CSV exports or summary reports used internally by the Program to monitor sales, inventory movement, and compliance.

Please provide the records in electronic format (CSV or XLSX preferred).

This request does not seek any patient-identifying information.

If any portion of the requested records is withheld, please cite the specific statutory basis for the denial and provide all reasonably segregable non-exempt portions.

If there are fees associated with fulfilling this request, please advise me of the estimated cost prior to processing.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Jason Karimi

SDCL § 1-27-1

All public records are open for inspection and copying unless specifically made confidential by law. 

SDCL § 1-27-1.1

Defines “public records” broadly to include all formats. 

SDCL § 1-27-37

Outlines response/denial procedures and timeline. 

If you want maximum compliance pressure, you can also CC:

📧 sunshine@state.sd.us

(SD Attorney General’s open-government compliance desk)

That combo routes your request through the proper legal channels so it can’t be ignored.

Once we receive data:

Average 8th prices change year over year? Average ounce prices?

Jobs gained or lost year to year?

Tax rate changes? Impact on revenue?

Trends? Successes? Struggles?

Why This Becomes Unavoidable

Legislators can ignore blogs.

They cannot ignore indices.

Once these tables exist:

• reporters cite them

• advocates use them

• lawmakers argue over them

• regulators respond to them

WeedPress is creating a scoreboard.

We are no longer writing about cannabis.

We are defining the scoreboard everyone uses using public sources to help guide entrepreneurs and policy makers with transparency.