Featured Analysis
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Incentives, Not Intentions: How Legislative Behavior Actually Changes
Incentives, Not Intentions: How Legislative Behavior Actually Changes By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 2, 2026 Political movements often misread opposition. They assume legislation advances because lawmakers are hostile, ideological, or morally opposed. Sometimes that is true. More often, legislative behavior is shaped by incentives — not intentions. ⸻ A thousand angry emails do not…
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South Dakota Hearing on HB 1065: Medical Cannabis “Affirmative Defense” Change — 7:45 a.m. Monday (Capitol Room 412)
South Dakota Hearing on HB 1065: Medical Cannabis “Affirmative Defense” Change — 7:45 a.m. Monday (Capitol Room 412) By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 2 2026 Public comment is welcome. The Senate Health & Human Services Committee meets Monday, March 2, 2026, at 7:45 a.m. in Capitol Room 412, and HB 1065 (revising the medical-purpose…
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No. 10 — Federal Preemption After Rescheduling: Conflict, Obstacle, and Cannabis Federalism
No. 10 — Federal Preemption After Rescheduling: Conflict, Obstacle, and Cannabis Federalism If federal enforcement priorities shift while federal prohibition remains intact, courts will increasingly confront whether the CSA preempts state licensing structures that depend on continued federal forbearance. Whether state laws are argued as exemptions to new and changing federal CSA directives will likely…
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South Dakota’s MMOC Board Is Political Theatre And Needs Disbanded
South Dakota’s MMOC Board Is Political Theatre And Needs Disbanded By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 24, 2026 South Dakota’s Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee (MMOC) has always looked more serious on paper than it has been in practice. Now the House has voted 41–26 to move HB 1160, the bill that would repeal it, and…
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No. 9 – Dormant Commerce Clause, Preemption, and Cannabis Rescheduling
Dormant Commerce Clause, Preemption, and Cannabis Rescheduling By Jason Karimi | WeedPress Policy Series No. 9February 2026 The prior essays examined how modern administrative law constrains federal cannabis reform through doctrines of delegation, deference, and procedural review. If marijuana is rescheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), however, a different constitutional doctrine may move to…
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South Dakota’s Schedule I Problem Is Now in the Administrative Record
South Dakota’s Schedule I Problem Is Now in the Administrative Record By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 23, 2026 Today, a formal Petition for Declaratory Ruling and Mandatory Scheduling Review of Cannabis was submitted to the South Dakota Department of Health under SDCL § 1-26-13, requesting review of marijuana’s continued placement in Schedule I. I…
Policy
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Every Cannabis Bill Sounds the Same — Here’s How to Translate Lawmaker Speak
Every Cannabis Bill Sounds the Same — Here’s How to Translate Lawmaker Speak By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | January 29, 2026 If you’ve covered even one cannabis hearing, you already know the truth: every cannabis bill sounds exactly the same. The words change, the bill numbers change, the lawmakers change — but the language?…
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South Dakota Lawmakers Quietly Move to Ban Hemp THC and Expand Drug Enforcement
South Dakota Lawmakers Quietly Move to Ban Hemp THC and Expand Drug Enforcement By Jason Karimi | WeedPress: The Paper Trail PIERRE, S.D. — While lawmakers quietly pulled a controversial medical cannabis arrest bill from the agenda this week, other cannabis-related legislation is still moving — including major efforts to ban hemp-derived THC products and…
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On Independence, Accountability, and Why I Don’t Build My Work Around Approval
On Independence, Accountability, and Why I Don’t Build My Work Around Approval By Jason Karimi At 19, I ended up in a homeless shelter. Not because I committed a crime.Not because I was addicted.Not because I couldn’t work. I was there because I stood up in court for religious cannabis rights, made the front page…
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Plural Policy: The Quiet Tool Lobbyists Use to Track and Shape Law (And Why Activists Should Pay Attention)
Plural Policy: The Quiet Tool Lobbyists Use to Track and Shape Law (And Why Activists Should Pay Attention) By Jason Karimi | WeedPress 1-24-2026 Most people who follow politics think legislation moves through press releases, committee hearings, and floor votes. That’s not how it actually works. Real power happens earlier — in version changes, quiet…
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What the MMOC Actually Recommended in 2025 — and Why It Still Doesn’t Control Policy
What the MMOC Actually Recommended in 2025 — and Why It Still Doesn’t Control Policy By Jason Karimi Every year the South Dakota Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee (MMOC) meets, debates, hears testimony, and votes on recommendations about the state’s medical cannabis program. And every year many patients and businesses assume those votes actually do something.…
Law
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Incentives, Not Intentions: How Legislative Behavior Actually Changes
Incentives, Not Intentions: How Legislative Behavior Actually Changes By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 2, 2026 Political movements often misread opposition. They assume legislation advances because lawmakers are hostile, ideological, or morally opposed. Sometimes that is true. More often, legislative behavior is shaped by incentives — not intentions. ⸻ A thousand angry emails do not…
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South Dakota Hearing on HB 1065: Medical Cannabis “Affirmative Defense” Change — 7:45 a.m. Monday (Capitol Room 412)
South Dakota Hearing on HB 1065: Medical Cannabis “Affirmative Defense” Change — 7:45 a.m. Monday (Capitol Room 412) By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 2 2026 Public comment is welcome. The Senate Health & Human Services Committee meets Monday, March 2, 2026, at 7:45 a.m. in Capitol Room 412, and HB 1065 (revising the medical-purpose…
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No. 10 — Federal Preemption After Rescheduling: Conflict, Obstacle, and Cannabis Federalism
No. 10 — Federal Preemption After Rescheduling: Conflict, Obstacle, and Cannabis Federalism If federal enforcement priorities shift while federal prohibition remains intact, courts will increasingly confront whether the CSA preempts state licensing structures that depend on continued federal forbearance. Whether state laws are argued as exemptions to new and changing federal CSA directives will likely…
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South Dakota’s MMOC Board Is Political Theatre And Needs Disbanded
South Dakota’s MMOC Board Is Political Theatre And Needs Disbanded By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 24, 2026 South Dakota’s Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee (MMOC) has always looked more serious on paper than it has been in practice. Now the House has voted 41–26 to move HB 1160, the bill that would repeal it, and…
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No. 9 – Dormant Commerce Clause, Preemption, and Cannabis Rescheduling
Dormant Commerce Clause, Preemption, and Cannabis Rescheduling By Jason Karimi | WeedPress Policy Series No. 9February 2026 The prior essays examined how modern administrative law constrains federal cannabis reform through doctrines of delegation, deference, and procedural review. If marijuana is rescheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), however, a different constitutional doctrine may move to…
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South Dakota’s Schedule I Problem Is Now in the Administrative Record
South Dakota’s Schedule I Problem Is Now in the Administrative Record By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 23, 2026 Today, a formal Petition for Declaratory Ruling and Mandatory Scheduling Review of Cannabis was submitted to the South Dakota Department of Health under SDCL § 1-26-13, requesting review of marijuana’s continued placement in Schedule I. I…
Science
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Join The Team: Help WeedPress Cover Iowa’s Cannabis Stories And Opinions
Any blogger or aspiring blogger who wants to write about Iowa cannabis related current events / Iowa cannabis news, and has some background in or ability to learn WordPress blogging, feel free to message WeedPress on Facebook. You’ll be your own author, under your own name, be enabled to publish, edit, and promote what you want, with…
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Full Video From Latest Iowa Medical Cannabis Board Meeting — Increase In Dispensaries, Concerns About Telemedicine, More
For more information on Iowa’s medical cannabis program and how to get yourself a patient registration card, visit the link at https://www.idph.iowa.gov/omc/Medical-Cannabidiol-Board and click the links to the left hand side of the page. Also, here’s a copy of the Board’s slideshow presentation, which has data on patient registration numbers and sales. Below is information…
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The “New Meth:” The Atlantic
If you’re working on drug policy, do not miss this article from the Atlantic on how a new form of meth is a likely factor contributing to violence, mental illness, and riots nationwide. Here’s an excerpt: “Once your eyes are open to the scale and human consequences of the P2P-meth epidemic, it’s hard to miss its…
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NBA Suspending Marijuana Testing for 2021/2022 Season (by NORML)
One of my main motivations for founding and creating WeedPress — help yourself and follow WeedPress on Facebook — as an alternative news resource was that I was an Iowa soccer referee. I was told that I was a candidate for the top ten slots in the state in fall 2013, and put on a…
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Today: 1 PM Central Minnesota House Committee Debating Ending Police Qualified Immunity, Rec Cannabis Legalization
https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/live/4 Watch at the above link, or at YouTube below. A respected colleague writes, (Representative) “Erik Mortenson is debating in committee today to end qualified immunity and legalize recreational marijuana in Minnesota. Live at the links at 1 pm central.” Follow WeedPress on Facebook
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The short-term impact of 3 smoked cannabis preparations versus placebo on PTSD symptoms: A randomized cross-over clinical trial
WeedPress note: This PTSD study was done with the Mississippi federal farm pot, which Dr. Sisley says is inadequate. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0246990 The short-term impact of 3 smoked cannabis preparations versus placebo on PTSD symptoms: A randomized cross-over clinical trial Marcel O. Bonn-Miller,Sue Sisley,Paula Riggs,Berra Yazar-Klosinski,Julie B. Wang,Mallory J. E. Loflin ,Benjamin Shechet,Colin Hennigan,Rebecca Matthews,Amy Emerson,Rick Doblin…
Current Events
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WeedPress Is Mapping the Battlefield While Others Debate the Map
WeedPress Is Mapping the Battlefield While Others Debate the Map WeedPress Policy SeriesBy Jason Karimi ⸻ There are two kinds of publications in contentious policy environments. Some debate what the terrain should look like. Others study what the terrain actually is. WeedPress was built to do the second. While many cannabis commentators remain focused on…
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HB 1065 Heads to the Floor: The Primary Gap in South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Politics
HB 1065 Heads to the Floor: The Primary Gap in South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Politics As restriction legislation advances, the absence of effectively deterrent electoral pressure reveals a leverage problem within the state’s cannabis movement. As House Bill 1065 advances to the South Dakota House floor, the moment calls for structural reflection rather than rhetorical…
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Who to Learn From—and Who to Avoid—When You Care About Truth and Stability
Who to Learn From—and Who to Avoid—When You Care About Truth and Stability By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 2026 “Cannabis is not the subject. It’s the stress test. The subject is constitutional process.” – Jason Karimi “Don’t waste time defending the past. Leadership is about providing continuously to make people’s lives easier. Talk…
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Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana Launches Statewide Town Hall Tour
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana Launches Statewide Town Hall Tour By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 7, 2026 Scottsbluff to Lincoln: Advocates Take Patient Access Conversation Across the State Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) is hitting the road this week with a statewide town hall tour aimed at updating patients, families, and community members on…
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There Is No Such Thing as “Good Trouble.” There Is Only Trouble.
There Is No Such Thing as “Good Trouble.” There Is Only Trouble. By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 7, 2026 The phrase “good trouble” entered political vocabulary as a moral shield — a way to bless disruption in advance. It suggests that if your cause is righteous, the consequences are purified. That framing is…
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A Review of WeedPress: Structure Over Noise in Cannabis Policy
A Review of WeedPress: Structure Over Noise in Cannabis Policy By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 8, 2026 As cannabis regulation continues to evolve at the state and federal levels, much of the media coverage surrounding it remains personality-driven, headline-focused, or politically reactive. Against that backdrop, WeedPress has occupied a different lane: documentation, structural…
Legislation
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HB 1065, A Bill To Felonize Medical Cardholders, Defeated 4-3
Senator Smith prior to the bill being defeated said: “This is another form of medicine. While it’s not a prescription it’s a permit to have it.” Then why is cannabis classified as Schedule I? Minnesota has it scheduled Schedule III. Why the conflicting laws in South Dakota?
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South Dakota Hearing on HB 1065: Medical Cannabis “Affirmative Defense” Change — 7:45 a.m. Monday (Capitol Room 412)
South Dakota Hearing on HB 1065: Medical Cannabis “Affirmative Defense” Change — 7:45 a.m. Monday (Capitol Room 412) By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 2 2026 Public comment is welcome. The Senate Health & Human Services Committee meets Monday, March 2, 2026, at 7:45 a.m. in Capitol Room 412, and HB 1065 (revising the medical-purpose…
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Medical Cannabis in South Dakota Has Entered a Political Vulnerability Phase
Medical Cannabis in South Dakota Has Entered a Political Vulnerability Phase By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 18, 2026 After passing the House 53–13 on February 17 and receiving its first reading in the Senate on February 18, HB 1065, which rolls back medical cannabis protections in South Dakota, has already done more than advance procedurally. It has…
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From Diagnosis to Discipline: Building Primary Leverage in South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Politics
From Diagnosis to Discipline: Building Primary Leverage in South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Politics By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 16, 2026 HB 1065 advancing is a test for the medical cannabis movement in South Dakota. If a restriction bill can clear committee 8–3 and advance toward the House floor with minimal electoral anxiety, the movement…
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WeedPress Is Mapping the Battlefield While Others Debate the Map
WeedPress Is Mapping the Battlefield While Others Debate the Map WeedPress Policy SeriesBy Jason Karimi ⸻ There are two kinds of publications in contentious policy environments. Some debate what the terrain should look like. Others study what the terrain actually is. WeedPress was built to do the second. While many cannabis commentators remain focused on…
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HB 1065 Heads to the Floor: The Primary Gap in South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Politics
HB 1065 Heads to the Floor: The Primary Gap in South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Politics As restriction legislation advances, the absence of effectively deterrent electoral pressure reveals a leverage problem within the state’s cannabis movement. As House Bill 1065 advances to the South Dakota House floor, the moment calls for structural reflection rather than rhetorical…
RFRA Updates
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The RFRA Trap: Litigation Sequencing and the Structural Limits of State Religious Freedom Claims in Drug Law
The RFRA Trap: Litigation Sequencing and the Structural Limits of State Religious Freedom Claims in Drug Law Why arguing state RFRA before federal constitutional claims can foreclose Supreme Court review — and how litigation order determines survival. By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 15, 2026 State Religious Freedom Restoration Acts are often treated as constitutional…
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South Dakota Senate Passes Resolution Calling for Prayer — While Cannabis Policy Still in Flux
South Dakota Senate Passes Resolution Calling for Prayer — While Cannabis Policy Still in Flux By Reverend Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 4, 2026 This week, the South Dakota Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 604 — a non-binding call urging residents of the state to “return to the Lord Most High” and observe a…
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Iowa Ayahuasca Church’s Bid to Force DEA Action Argued in D.C. Circuit, Decision Pending
Judges Signal Skepticism as Court Considers Forcing DEA to Act on Long-Delayed Exemption for Iowa Church Iowa Ayahuasca Church’s Bid to Force DEA Action Argued in D.C. Circuit, Decision Pending By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | January 39, 2026 An Iowa-based religious group has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia…
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No. 2 – The Path to a Religious Cannabis Exemption: Why Medical Cannabis Systems Change the RFRA Equation
The Path to a Religious Cannabis Exemption: Why Medical Cannabis Systems Change the RFRA Equation By Jason Karimi | WeedPress Policy Series No. 2 January 27, 2026 For decades, U.S. courts have uniformly rejected claims that marijuana is protected as a religious sacrament under the First Amendment or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Ethiopian…
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Petition For Religious Cannabis Exemption In Nebraska
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THURSTON COUNTY, NEBRASKA STATE OF NEBRASKA, Plaintiff, v. JASON KARIMI, Defendant. Case No: DEFENDANT’S PRO SE MOTION TO MODIFY PROBATION CONDITION PURSUANT TO THE NEBRASKA FIRST FREEDOM ACT (NEB. REV. STAT. §§ 20-701 – 20-705) COMES NOW the Defendant, appearing pro se, and…
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Time to Work On Religious Cannabis Petition For Nebraska
I’m one of two cases involving religious cannabis users arguing a constitutional right for religious exemption to cannabis laws in Nebraska. If non-religious secular medical users get exemption, but not religious users, that’s discrimination. Asking a court for such a ruling is warranted. I’ve got 50 pages of notes to turn into my filings. So,…
Upcoming Events
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Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana Launches Statewide Town Hall Tour
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana Launches Statewide Town Hall Tour By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 7, 2026 Scottsbluff to Lincoln: Advocates Take Patient Access Conversation Across the State Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) is hitting the road this week with a statewide town hall tour aimed at updating patients, families, and community members on…
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Federal Public Comment Available Now (Texas Too)
Public input needed! Federal first then Texas: Federal Update: CMS & Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids On November 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) filed a proposed ruleto incorporate the federal definition of hemp that will take effect on November 12, 2026. This proposed rule clarifies that cannabis or hemp-derived products illegal under federal or state…
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Tomorrow: Best Attorneys Discuss Federal Rescheduling At Noon
https://x.com/jamiecampbell/status/2006159843267145790?s=46 RSVP and attend at noon central/ 1 eastern 1-6-2025 Be there or be square. Link also here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UKmdX9EBQs2HYOW7epomvA#/registration
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Reminder: Rising to the Moment: Protecting and Advancing Cannabis Legalization in a Changing America
Rising to the Moment: Protecting and Advancing Cannabis Legalization in a Changing America Date & TimeDec 17, 2025 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Webinar ID815 7712 0875 Description BGM and Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) invite you to join us for a timely discussion on the current state of the national legalization landscape. We will…
For The Record (2026), By Jason Karimi
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Chapter 9: The Record vs. the Narrative
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 10: What Remains
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 8: What the Media Gets Wrong
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 7: Why I Never Left
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 6: Staying Power
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 5: The Apprenticeship
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 4: Learning the Language of Power
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 3: Becoming a Problem
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 2: Before the File Was Opened
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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“For The Record” Chapter 1: The First Arrest
The following 8,580 word book is ten chapters long and written for future advocates. FOR THE RECORD How Power Actually Works—and Why Documentation Outlasts the Narrative By Jason Karimi Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted…
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On Independence, Accountability, and Why I Don’t Build My Work Around Approval
On Independence, Accountability, and Why I Don’t Build My Work Around Approval By Jason Karimi At 19, I ended up in a homeless shelter. Not because I committed a crime.Not because I was addicted.Not because I couldn’t work. I was there because I stood up in court for religious cannabis rights, made the front page…
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Why WeedPress Chooses to Be a High-Heat, Contrarian Watchdog
Why WeedPress Chooses to Be a High-Heat, Contrarian Watchdog By Jason Karimi | WeedPressJanuary 24, 2026 WeedPress was not created to be polite. It was not created to echo press releases, recycle activist talking points, or play nice with institutions that have repeatedly failed cannabis patients, small operators, and civil liberties. WeedPress exists to document,…
Commentary
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“Code of the West” Covers Montana’s Failed Effort To Repeal Marijuana Laws
Year: 2012 At a time when the world is rethinking its drug policies large and small, one state rises to the forefront. Once a pioneer in legalizing medical marijuana, the state of Montana may now become the first to repeal its medical marijuana law. Set against the sweeping vistas of the Rockies, the steamy lamplight…
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How Kim Reynolds Bullied Iowa City Council Members Out of Decriminalizing Marijuana
Iowa city council members who wished to decriminalize marijuana tell Iowa cannabis activists Kim Reynolds threatened to take away city funds from the state if the city council pursues marijuana decriminalization. As of today Kim Reynolds is the most unpopular governor in the country. Republicans stifling debate on a winning political issue using threats to…
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RFRA Changes The Cannabis Game; Fulfills My Prediction Religious Cannabis Constitutional Claims
Prior to RFRA state laws, I argued the first amendment right to religion would bring constitutional rulings for individuals protecting religious access to cannabis in private prayer. I think this is still the inevitable end result of cannabis litigations. There are several things to note about the RFRA.
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Patient Perspectives
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HB 1065, A Bill To Felonize Medical Cardholders, Defeated 4-3
Senator Smith prior to the bill being defeated said: “This is another form of medicine. While it’s not a prescription it’s a permit to have it.” Then why is cannabis classified as Schedule I? Minnesota has it scheduled Schedule III. Why the conflicting laws in South Dakota?
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Incentives, Not Intentions: How Legislative Behavior Actually Changes
Incentives, Not Intentions: How Legislative Behavior Actually Changes By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 2, 2026 Political movements often misread opposition. They assume legislation advances because lawmakers are hostile, ideological, or morally opposed. Sometimes that is true. More often, legislative behavior is shaped by incentives — not intentions. ⸻ A thousand angry emails do not…
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South Dakota Hearing on HB 1065: Medical Cannabis “Affirmative Defense” Change — 7:45 a.m. Monday (Capitol Room 412)
South Dakota Hearing on HB 1065: Medical Cannabis “Affirmative Defense” Change — 7:45 a.m. Monday (Capitol Room 412) By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 2 2026 Public comment is welcome. The Senate Health & Human Services Committee meets Monday, March 2, 2026, at 7:45 a.m. in Capitol Room 412, and HB 1065 (revising the medical-purpose…
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South Dakota’s MMOC Board Is Political Theatre And Needs Disbanded
South Dakota’s MMOC Board Is Political Theatre And Needs Disbanded By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 24, 2026 South Dakota’s Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee (MMOC) has always looked more serious on paper than it has been in practice. Now the House has voted 41–26 to move HB 1160, the bill that would repeal it, and…
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South Dakota’s Schedule I Problem Is Now in the Administrative Record
South Dakota’s Schedule I Problem Is Now in the Administrative Record By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 23, 2026 Today, a formal Petition for Declaratory Ruling and Mandatory Scheduling Review of Cannabis was submitted to the South Dakota Department of Health under SDCL § 1-26-13, requesting review of marijuana’s continued placement in Schedule I. I…
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The District Math: How Primary Elections Actually Decide Legislative Power in South Dakota
The District Math: How Primary Elections Actually Decide Legislative Power in South Dakota By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 23, 2026 If HB 1065 was a diagnostic, district math is the operating manual. Political influence in South Dakota is not determined by statewide sentiment alone. It is determined district by district — often by a…
WeedPress: The Paper Trail 