South Dakota’s medical cannabis establishments list shows 63 dispensaries. They are in 23 of the state’s 66 counties.¹ The other 43 counties have no listed dispensary. Those counties are home to about 185,000 people, roughly one in five South Dakotans, according to 2024 Census Bureau estimates.²
The list had 78 dispensaries in an archived copy from Feb. 23, 2024.³ WeedPress mapped the current list by county and also marked the dispensaries and the one manufacturer whose departures from the list WeedPress has traced in archived copies.
County data: The Department of Health’s Oct. 13, 2026 handout to the Legislature’s Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee breaks cardholders down by county. It lists 2,123 patients in the 43 counties with no listed dispensary, 17,070 in the 23 counties with one, and 531 whose county is listed as “Unknown,” for 19,724 in all.⁴³ The department reports statewide totals monthly: 20,040 patients, 631 caregivers and 212 providers in September 2026.⁴ WeedPress asked the department for county cardholder counts and for the status of Royzzz Manufacturing of Yankton and dispensaries no longer on the list, including Organic Trading and Cannabis Connection, in records requests PUBRECREQ0007157 and PUBRECREQ0007158, filed Oct. 27 through the department’s records process at the direction of the Office of Medical Cannabis. For PUBRECREQ0007158, Department of Health General Counsel Howard Pallotta wrote via SD.gov Portal on Nov. 6 that the department would need until Nov. 27 to respond, then responded at 4:25 p.m. CST Nov. 9, and the portal marked the request resolved. On the county question, his Nov. 9 response says: “We have no records tracking patients by county.” It produced no county counts and does not explain how the county figures in the department’s Oct. 13 handout, cited above, were compiled. As of Nov. 10, WeedPress had received no response to PUBRECREQ0007157 beyond the portal’s acknowledgment of receipt. Both Pallotta emails are on file with WeedPress. Updated Nov. 10, 2026, to add the department’s Nov. 9 response. The handout still does not state the date its county figures were drawn, how cardholders were assigned to counties, or who the 531 “Unknown” cardholders are. The map shades counties by listed dispensaries, not by where patients live.⁵
What the map shows
Each county is shaded by the number of dispensaries on the department’s list, last updated Nov. 2.⁶ The newest entry, Redstone Creek Farms LLC, is listed in De Smet and does not appear on the department’s Aug. 27 version of the list; WeedPress counted it in Kingsbury County, which contains the city of De Smet (WeedPress’s report on the De Smet listing). The list gives only a business name and city, so WeedPress assigned each dispensary to the county containing its listed city using Census Bureau files.⁷,⁸ Two cities on the current list cross county lines. WeedPress counted Sioux Falls’ six listed dispensaries in Minnehaha County, although the city extends into Lincoln County, because the list gives no street addresses. Box Elder, which extends into Meade County, was counted in Pennington County. The archived Irene listing is discussed below.⁹
| County | Feb. 2024 | Nov. 2026 | Residents (2024 est.) | Residents per dispensary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennington | 14 | 11 | 115,979 | 10,544 |
| Minnehaha | 8 | 8 | 208,639 | 26,080 |
| Yankton | 5 | 5 | 23,509 | 4,702 |
| Brown | 3 | 4 | 37,495 | 9,374 |
| Union | 3 | 4 | 17,402 | 4,351 |
| Beadle | 3 | 3 | 19,459 | 6,486 |
| Codington | 3 | 3 | 29,278 | 9,759 |
| Davison | 2 | 3 | 19,907 | 6,636 |
| Meade | 4 | 3 | 30,918 | 10,306 |
| Brookings | 4 | 2 | 36,359 | 18,180 |
| Charles Mix | 3 | 2 | 9,343 | 4,672 |
| Lawrence | 4 | 2 | 28,809 | 14,405 |
| Lincoln | 4 | 2 | 75,244 | 37,622 |
| Stanley | 3 | 2 | 3,015 | 1,508 |
| Brule | 0 | 1 | 5,261 | 5,261 |
| Butte | 2 | 1 | 10,891 | 10,891 |
| Clay | 2 | 1 | 15,245 | 15,245 |
| Custer | 2 | 1 | 9,330 | 9,330 |
| Fall River | 1 | 1 | 7,359 | 7,359 |
| Grant | 0 | 1 | 7,618 | 7,618 |
| Hughes | 1 | 1 | 17,526 | 17,526 |
| Kingsbury | 0 | 1 | 5,261 | 5,261 |
| Tripp | 2 | 1 | 5,717 | 5,717 |
Sources: department establishments list (Feb. 23, 2024 archived copy and Nov. 2, 2026 list); Census Bureau Vintage 2024 county estimates.¹⁰,¹¹,¹² Residents per dispensary is total county population divided by listed dispensaries. It is not a count of patients.
Together, the 23 counties with a listed dispensary have about 740,000 residents.¹³ Because of the Sioux Falls assignment, the Minnehaha and Lincoln figures should be read together: the two counties have 10 listed dispensaries and about 284,000 residents, or roughly 28,400 residents per dispensary. Read separately, Lincoln’s figure is inflated and Minnehaha’s understated by that assignment.
The department’s county handout gives cardholder counts for the same counties. Measured against the Nov. 2 list, cardholders per listed dispensary range from 37 in Tripp County, with one dispensary, to 553 in Lincoln County, with two.⁴³ The handout’s own dispensary column totals 67 rather than 63 and shows 16 in Pennington County, so its dispensary figures appear to reflect a different date; WeedPress used the Nov. 2 list for dispensary counts.
Counties that lost every listed dispensary
Comparing the February 2024 copy with the current list, Douglas (Corsica), Marshall (Veblen) and Roberts (Peever) are among the counties that had one listed dispensary then and have none now.¹⁴,¹⁵ A fifth listing, in Irene, a town that lies in Clay, Turner and Yankton counties, is also gone.¹⁶,¹⁷ Three counties, Brule, Grant and Kingsbury, gained their first listed dispensary over the same period.¹⁸,¹⁹
The net drop from 78 to 63 is not a count of closures. Some entries appear under different legal or trade names in different copies, and the list does not explain removals.²⁰,²¹
Three dispensaries WeedPress traced in archived lists
The map marks three dispensaries whose last appearance, among the archived copies WeedPress reviewed, fell between two captures:
- Organic Trading, Winner (Tripp County): listed Nov. 6, 2024; absent Dec. 13, 2024.²²,²³
- Top Shelf ReLeaf Dispensary, Platte (Charles Mix County): listed Nov. 6, 2024; absent Dec. 13, 2024.²⁴,²⁵
- Cannabis Connection, Brookings (Brookings County): listed May 31, 2025; absent Aug. 23, 2025.²⁶,²⁷
A store’s removal from the list does not by itself show whether a certificate expired, was surrendered or not renewed, or was the subject of enforcement. A listing also does not show that a store is open to customers.
Royzzz Manufacturing of Yankton
The map also marks one manufacturer. “Royzzz Manufacturing of Yankton” appears on the copy of the list captured April 9, 2026, and is missing from the copy captured May 14, 2026.²⁸,²⁹ A Yankton manufacturing entry for “Potanicalz, LLC” first appears, among the archived copies WeedPress reviewed, on the May 14 copy.³⁰ The list does not say whether the two entries are related. WeedPress has asked the department whether the Potanicalz certificate is for the same location.³¹ Four Royzzz-named dispensary entries remain on the current list.³²
Yankton County has five listed dispensaries, and the list shows 14 manufacturers statewide.³³
What WeedPress is waiting for
WeedPress’s records requests ask the department for the current certificate status of Royzzz Manufacturing of Yankton and dispensaries no longer on the list, including Organic Trading and Cannabis Connection; how each left the list; and whether the department tracks cardholders by county and, if so, the latest county counts.³⁴ The requests do not cover Top Shelf ReLeaf. WeedPress will update this map when the department responds.
The department’s monthly data report and its fiscal year 2024 annual report do not break cardholders down by county,³⁵,³⁶,³⁷ but its Oct. 13, 2026 handout to the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee does.⁴³ The records requests can add the as-of date for those county figures, the method used to assign cardholders to counties, and an explanation of the 531 cardholders listed under “Unknown.”
About the data
- Establishments: Department of Health list, content last updated Nov. 2, 2026, viewed Nov. 3, 2026, and archived copies of the department’s former Certified Establishments page from the Internet Archive.³⁸,³⁹
- Population: Census Bureau Vintage 2024 county estimates; statewide total 924,669.⁴⁰
- Geography: Census Bureau 2023 cartographic county boundaries and the 2020 place-to-county file. The list spells two towns differently from the Census Bureau: “Coleman” was matched to Colman (Moody County) and “Vermilion” to Vermillion (Clay County).⁴¹,⁴²
- Limits: The map shades counties by dispensaries on the current list and marks the former entries discussed in this article from archived copies. It does not show where patients live. County cardholder figures in this article come from the department’s Oct. 13, 2026 handout, not from the map.⁴³
Related coverage
- What Changes for South Dakota Medical Cannabis Patients and Caregivers as Revised Rules Take Effect Nov. 5
- South Dakota’s New Lab Rules Take Effect With One Testing Lab Listed
- After the Canvass: The Cannabis Math in South Dakota’s 2027 Legislature
- The Nov. 12 Federal Hemp Change Hits Products South Dakota Already Bars. The Bigger Change Comes Dec. 11.
- South Dakota Had Two Medical Cannabis Testing Labs. Now It Has One. Nobody Has Explained Why.
- 38 Rules, 19,821 Patients, 108 Licensed Establishments: South Dakota Rewrites Its Medical Cannabis Program
- A Patient Card Is Not a Shop License
Notes
¹ S.D. Dep’t of Health, South Dakota Medical Cannabis Establishments List (content last updated Nov. 2, 2026), https://doh.sd.gov/programs/medical-cannabis/medical-cannabis-establishments/establishments-list/ (last visited Nov. 3, 2026).
² U.S. Census Bureau, County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020–2024 (Vintage 2024), https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2024/counties/totals/co-est2024-alldata.csv.
³ S.D. Dep’t of Health, Certified Establishments (archived Feb. 23, 2024), https://web.archive.org/web/20240223144431/https://medcannabis.sd.gov/Establishments/CertifiedEstablishments.aspx.
⁴ S.D. Dep’t of Health, Medical Cannabis Data, September 2026, Medical Cannabis Program (Oct. 1, 2026) (“In September 2026, there were 20,040 patients, 631 caregivers, and 212 providers in the Medical Cannabis program.”), https://doh.sd.gov/programs/medical-cannabis/ (last visited Oct. 27, 2026).
⁵ Records requests from Jason Karimi, WeedPress, to S.D. Dep’t of Health, Office of Medical Cannabis, Nos. PUBRECREQ0007157 & PUBRECREQ0007158 (filed Oct. 27, 2026) (on file with WeedPress).
⁶ DOH Establishments List, supra note 1.
⁷ U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Place-to-County Relationship File, South Dakota (st46_sd_place2020.txt), https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/codes2020/place/st46_sd_place2020.txt.
⁸ U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Cartographic Boundary File, Counties, 1:5,000,000 (cb_2023_us_county_5m), https://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/GENZ2023/shp/cb_2023_us_county_5m.zip.
⁹ Census Place-County File, supra note 7.
¹⁰ Certified Establishments (Feb. 23, 2024 capture), supra note 3.
¹¹ DOH Establishments List, supra note 1.
¹² Census Vintage 2024 County Estimates, supra note 2.
¹³ Id.
¹⁴ Certified Establishments (Feb. 23, 2024 capture), supra note 3.
¹⁵ DOH Establishments List, supra note 1.
¹⁶ Certified Establishments (Feb. 23, 2024 capture), supra note 3.
¹⁷ DOH Establishments List, supra note 1.
¹⁸ Certified Establishments (Feb. 23, 2024 capture), supra note 3.
¹⁹ DOH Establishments List, supra note 1.
²⁰ Certified Establishments (Feb. 23, 2024 capture), supra note 3.
²¹ DOH Establishments List, supra note 1.
²² S.D. Dep’t of Health, Certified Establishments (archived Nov. 6, 2024), https://web.archive.org/web/20241106061911/https://medcannabis.sd.gov/Establishments/CertifiedEstablishments.aspx.
²³ S.D. Dep’t of Health, Certified Establishments (archived Dec. 13, 2024), https://web.archive.org/web/20241213052452/https://medcannabis.sd.gov/Establishments/CertifiedEstablishments.aspx.
²⁴ Certified Establishments (Nov. 6, 2024 capture), supra note 22.
²⁵ Certified Establishments (Dec. 13, 2024 capture), supra note 23.
²⁶ S.D. Dep’t of Health, Certified Establishments (archived May 31, 2025), https://web.archive.org/web/20250531082618/https://medcannabis.sd.gov/Establishments/CertifiedEstablishments.aspx.
²⁷ S.D. Dep’t of Health, Certified Establishments (archived Aug. 23, 2025), https://web.archive.org/web/20250823215154/https://medcannabis.sd.gov/Establishments/CertifiedEstablishments.aspx.
²⁸ S.D. Dep’t of Health, Certified Establishments (archived Apr. 9, 2026), https://web.archive.org/web/20260409140659/https://medcannabis.sd.gov/Establishments/CertifiedEstablishments.aspx.
²⁹ S.D. Dep’t of Health, Certified Establishments (archived May 14, 2026), https://web.archive.org/web/20260514054438/https://medcannabis.sd.gov/Establishments/CertifiedEstablishments.aspx.
³⁰ Id.
³¹ Records Requests, supra note 5.
³² DOH Establishments List, supra note 1.
³³ Id.
³⁴ Records Requests, supra note 5.
³⁵ Medical Cannabis Data, September 2026, supra note 4.
³⁶ S.D. Dep’t of Health, Medical Cannabis Program Annual Report, State Fiscal Year 2024, https://doh.sd.gov/media/4ndgp2h3/fy2024_med-cannabis-annual-report.pdf.
³⁷ S.D. Dep’t of Health, Medical Cannabis Data, https://doh.sd.gov/programs/medical-cannabis/med-cannabis-data/ (last visited Oct. 27, 2026).
³⁸ DOH Establishments List, supra note 1.
³⁹ Certified Establishments (Feb. 23, 2024 capture), supra note 3.
⁴⁰ Census Vintage 2024 County Estimates, supra note 2.
⁴¹ Census County Boundaries, supra note 8.
⁴² Census Place-County File, supra note 7.
⁴³ S.D. Dep’t of Health, Number of Patients per County (handout to the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee, Oct. 13, 2026), LRC Doc. No. 308374, https://mylrc.sdlegislature.gov/api/Documents/308374.pdf (last visited Oct. 28, 2026).
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