Larry Rhoden’s Running Mate Has Opposed Cannabis Expansion. Here’s Who Says He Wants to Grow the Industry.

Another four years of repeal bills and resistance from the Governor’s mansion is not an option. The industry must show up on July 28.

Look, the South Dakota cannabis industry is in a bad spot and it’s getting worse. We’ve already had two recreational ballot measures crash and burn because they were thrown together late, underfunded, and run by people who were distracted and spread too thin.¹ A lot of operators knew those campaigns were long shots, but they pushed anyway because they could see the writing on the wall — without more patients and more access, a lot of small businesses were going to go under. Now we’re down to the wire.

On July 28 we actually have a real choice.

Governor Larry Rhoden and his Lieutenant Governor, Tony Venhuizen, are the same old political crowd causing grief with the cannabis program. Costs are higher for operators because of the restrictive laws, and lawmakers under Rhoden have fought cannabis business interests at every turn. Venhuizen has spent basically his whole career in government — chief of staff to two governors, time in the legislature, the whole deal.² He’s been against recreational cannabis from the jump and has backed policies that kept the program small and restricted.³ That’s the direction him and the current Governor want to keep going if we let them get reelected in ten days.

Toby Doeden is different. He’s not a career politician. He’s a businessman who actually built companies here in South Dakota — dealerships, real estate, the whole thing. He’s never held office before.⁴ According to people close to his campaign, he’s open to growing the medical program to 40,000 patients instead of keeping it locked down at around 18,000 patients.⁵ That kind of expansion would actually put more money in the pockets of cultivators, processors, and dispensaries instead of just keeping everyone scraping by.⁶

We’ve spent years getting jerked around by the same political class that treats cannabis like a problem⁷ instead of an industry. The failed recreational pushes showed how desperate a lot of businesses already are. If we keep going down the same road with Rhoden and Venhuizen, nothing really changes. Small operators keep getting squeezed while the big political players stay comfortable.

Doeden is offering something different — someone who actually understands how businesses work and has said he wants to see this thing grow instead of just managing it into the ground. With only ten days left, the people who actually work in this industry need to decide what future they want.

For anyone who thinks the medical cannabis program should get bigger instead of staying small and stuck, Toby Doeden is the clear option on July 28.

Vote Toby Doeden on July 28.

Take time off and go vote.

Or, your local cannabis dispensary and job may not be around much longer if Rhoden gets reelected. Help Doeden, and the cannabis industry, get a real win. It’s the least we could all do, is unite together to get up and vote for cannabis interests when given the chance. Don’t waste this one. July 28 votes by a few hundred of us can tip the election. This time, one vote may make a real difference. No excuses.

Footnotes

¹ See generally reporting on South Dakota recreational marijuana ballot measures (2022–2024).

² See Larry Rhoden for Governor, Your SD Team, https://governorlarryrhoden.com/your-sd-team/ (last visited July 17, 2026).

³ See Toby Doeden (@TobyForSD), X (formerly Twitter) (June 23, 2026), https://x.com/TobyForSD/status/2069452743522001373.

⁴ See Toby Doeden for Governor, About Toby, https://tobydoeden.com (last visited July 17, 2026).

⁵ See Toby Doeden for Governor, Issues, https://tobydoeden.com/issues (last visited July 17, 2026).

⁶ Conversation with multiple individuals familiar with the Doeden campaign (July 17, 2026) (on file with author).

⁷ See generally S.D. Codified Laws ch. 34-20G.

⁸ See S.D. Dep’t of Revenue, Cannabis Tax Collections (2025–2026).