One-Term Disgraces: Garcia and Carley Tanked the MMOC and Got Fired by Voters

Josephine Garcia and John Carley took office in January 2025. By June 2026, both were one-term has-beens who lost their Republican primaries in humiliating fashion. Their short tenures were marked by dysfunction on the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee (MMOC), where Garcia served as Chair and Carley as Vice-Chair. Under their leadership, the committee became so controversial that the South Dakota House voted 41-26 to abolish it entirely.¹ Voters then finished the job by rejecting both of them at the ballot box.

Carley’s Absenteeism Scandal

John Carley’s most infamous moment came in February 2026 during one of the busiest days of the legislative session. He disappeared from the Senate floor during critical votes on data center incentive bills, forcing colleagues to search for him while the chamber descended into chaos.²

Carley later claimed he had an eye doctor appointment. In a follow-up interview, he admitted he was “intentionally” absent in part because he wanted to make sure his “no” vote couldn’t be overridden by the Lieutenant Governor in a tie.³ Multiple news outlets covered the incident, highlighting how his absence helped kill the bills and raised serious questions about his reliability as a lawmaker.⁴

This was not the behavior of a serious legislator. It was the behavior of someone who treated his seat like a part-time gig while important legislation hung in the balance.

Garcia’s Abuse of Power

Josephine Garcia’s low point came during a November 2025 MMOC meeting. When Emmett Reistroffer, a medical cannabis advocate, spoke during public comment and criticized the committee, Garcia repeatedly muted his audio feed.⁵ She later justified the action on Facebook by claiming Reistroffer had posted things she considered defamatory.⁶

Muting a member of the public during testimony and then threatening or attacking him on social media is not oversight — it is an abuse of power. Garcia used her position as Chair to silence criticism rather than engage with it. That kind of behavior perfectly encapsulates the closed-door, arrogant culture that turned the MMOC into a liability.

The MMOC They Destroyed

The dysfunction under Garcia and Carley’s leadership became so obvious that the House of Representatives voted to repeal the sections of law that created the MMOC.⁷ The committee, meant to provide oversight of the voter-approved medical marijuana program, had instead become a source of embarrassment and industry frustration. Garcia and Carley helped turn a legitimate oversight body into something so toxic that even the House wanted it gone.

Voters delivered the final verdict on June 2, 2026. Garcia lost her Senate primary. Carley lost his. Both left office after just one term, having done more to damage the credibility of cannabis oversight in South Dakota than almost anyone else in recent years.

They are not victims of some grand conspiracy. They are the predictable result of putting small-minded, power-abusing politicians in charge of an important issue and then watching them fail at the most basic level of public service.

Good riddance.

Footnotes

¹ H.B. 1184, 2026 Leg., Reg. Sess. (S.D. 2026) (House vote of 41-26 to repeal the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee).

² Joshua Haiar, A missing senator, a failed search and two dead data center bills, S.D. Searchlight (Feb. 24, 2026).

³ KOTA Territory News, State Sen. John Carley goes in detail about his absence (Feb. 2026) (video interview).

⁴ Dakota News Now, Sen. John Carley’s no-show causes confusion (Feb. 25, 2026); Mitchell Now, Missing Vote by Sen. John Carley Sinks Data Center Incentive Bill (Feb. 26, 2026).

⁵ Joshua Haiar, Medical marijuana rift widens as oversight panel confuses and upsets industry, S.D. Searchlight (Nov. 5, 2025); KELO, Tone turns edgy at medical marijuana final meeting (Nov. 4, 2025).

⁶ Josephine Garcia, Facebook post (Nov. 2025) (on file with author).

⁷ H.B. 1184, 2026 Leg., Reg. Sess. (S.D. 2026).