These collections group WeedPress reporting by legal question. Each list puts the most heavily sourced articles first, and most link the statutes, rules, filings and agency letters they discuss so readers can check them directly. Dates are publication dates.
Related research pages: Federal Compliance Matrix · Agency Accountability Tracker · Public Compliance Log · Records Library · Catch-Up Guide.
Collections: Federal compliance and controlled-substance scheduling · DEA registration · Patient protections and rights · State rulemaking: ARSD 44:90, MMOC, DOH, Attorney General and Legislature · Litigation, petitions and courts · Testing labs and establishment compliance
Federal compliance and controlled-substance scheduling
How the April 28, 2026 federal order moved some marijuana to Schedule III, and what it left for South Dakota’s own Schedule I statute. Start here for the scheduling questions the other collections build on.
- Schedule III Changed the Federal Rules. Here Are 26 Questions South Dakota Still Has to Answer. (Sept. 29, 2026). Lists 26 federal–state questions on caregivers, patient transfers, Schedule I, DEA registration, home cultivation and certification, filed ahead of the Oct. 13 MMOC meeting.
- South Dakota’s Schedule I Statute Requires a Department Determination Before the Legislature Gets a Rescheduling Recommendation (Sept. 5, 2026). Reads SDCL 34-20B-27 as requiring a Department of Health determination before a rescheduling recommendation goes to the Legislature.
- What Does “Accepted Medical Use” Actually Mean? A 40-Year Legal Fight Now Matters in South Dakota (Sept. 15, 2026). Traces the “accepted medical use” test in SDCL 34-20B-11 to the 1970 Uniform Controlled Substances Act and the federal dispute over its meaning.
- South Dakota’s Commissioner Could Add, Delete, or Reschedule Drugs in 1970. A 1976 Criminal-Code Revision Replaced That Power With a Recommendation to the Legislature. (Sept. 20, 2026). Documents how the 1976 criminal-code revision replaced the 1970 commissioner’s power to add, delete or reschedule drugs with a recommendation to the Legislature.
- A New Legal Standard Emerges: How HHS’s Two-Part Test Is Reshaping DEA Drug Scheduling (Jan. 18, 2026). Explains the HHS two-part test for “currently accepted medical use” alongside FDA approval and DEA’s older five-part test.
- DEA ALJ Preliminary Order Confirms Medical Cannabis Rescheduling Is Already Done: June 29 Hearing Limited to the “Remainder” of Marijuana (June 19, 2026). Reports the DEA chief ALJ’s June 18, 2026 preliminary order limiting the June 29 hearing to the remaining categories of marijuana.
- Federal Medical Cannabis Rescheduling Has Produced Four Distinct State Responses—But Most States Still Have Not Chosen One (Aug. 4, 2026). Sorts state responses to the April 2026 federal order into four types and notes that most states had not yet chosen one.
- Iowa Proposes State Schedule III Placement for Qualifying Medical Marijuana Products. South Dakota Still Has a Separate Scheduling Question. (Oct. 15, 2026). Reports the Iowa Board of Pharmacy’s RA 26-323 proposal to place qualifying medical marijuana products in Iowa’s Schedule III.
- Washington’s Cannabis Regulator Concludes Federal Medical Rescheduling Does Not Reach Most of Its Licensees (July 27, 2026). Reports the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board’s June 2026 bulletin concluding the order “does not appear to apply” to most of its licensees.
- Massachusetts and Arizona After the Partial Federal Schedule III Shift: Two Mature Markets, Two Different Conformity Problems (May 4, 2026). Compares the conformity problems facing Massachusetts and Arizona after the partial federal Schedule III shift.
- Congress Gave Delta-8 Another Month. It Didn’t Give It Schedule III. (Oct. 25, 2026). Explains the Nov. 12 and Dec. 11, 2026 changes to the federal hemp definition and why they do not place hemp-derived delta-8 in Schedule III.
DEA registration
What the new expedited registration pathway in 21 C.F.R. § 1301.13(k) requires, and how it lines up with South Dakota’s establishment certificates. A seven-part series from September 2026 makes up most of this list.
- When the State Certificate Is Suspended, the Federal Registration Is Suspended Too. (Sept. 22, 2026). Follows § 1301.13(k)(3): if the state license is suspended, revoked or expires, the DEA registration is automatically suspended.
- The April Rescheduling Order Asks for a License. Pierre Issues Four Certificates. (Sept. 11, 2026). Maps the federal “state medical marijuana license” onto South Dakota’s four types of establishment registration certificates.
- South Dakota Already Requires Testing Labs to Register With DEA. The New Subsection (k) Does Not Name a Testing Class. (Sept. 22, 2026). Shows that ARSD 44:90:06 already requires testing labs to register with DEA, while § 1301.13(k) names no testing class.
- Part 1301 Defers Security to State Law. Article 44:90 Never Mentions Part 1301. (Sept. 22, 2026). Compares § 1301.13(k)’s reliance on state security, disposal and labeling rules with Article 44:90, which does not mention Part 1301.
- A Written Certification Is Not a Part 1306 Prescription (Sept. 11, 2026). Explains how § 1301.13(k)(5) lets a state written certification support dispensing without making it a Part 1306 prescription.
- The Medical Cannabis Desk Is at Health. The Prescription Desk Is at Pharmacy. (Sept. 11, 2026). Sets out which South Dakota offices handle the cannabis program (ch. 34-20G), pharmacy (ch. 36-11) and controlled-substance registration (ch. 34-20B).
- DEA Registration Decision Tree: 5 Questions Every Medical Operator Should Answer Before June 27 (May 5, 2026). Five questions on eligibility and timing for the expedited (k) pathway and its 60-day application window.
Patient protections and rights
What state law protects for cardholders and caregivers, and where federal exposure remains. See also the Patient Rights Quick Guide.
- DEA’s New Transfer Warning Collides With South Dakota’s Caregiver and Patient-Transfer Laws (Sept. 28, 2026). Compares the federal Schedule III transfer warning with South Dakota’s caregiver purchases and the no-value transfers protected by SDCL 34-20G-2(6).
- A Patient Card Is Not a Shop License (Sept. 11, 2026). Separates the patient registry identification card from the operator license the April 2026 order relies on.
- ILLEGAL: Homegrown Cannabis Remains Outside Federal Schedule III Protections — An Open Question With Real Consequences for Patients (June 8, 2026). Explains that the April 28 order covers FDA-approved products and state-licensed marijuana only, leaving home-grown cannabis in federal Schedule I.
- LRC Says South Dakota Health’s New Homegrow Restriction May Lack Statutory Authority (Sept. 23, 2026). Reports the Legislative Research Council review calling the statutory support for ending home cultivation by patients under 21 “quite weak.”
- Can You Lose Child Custody for Medical Marijuana in South Dakota? What the Law Actually Says (Sept. 21, 2026). Explains South Dakota’s custody protection for medical cannabis patients and how the Legislature changed the voter-approved version.
- New SD Bill Would Let Police Arrest Medical Cannabis Patients Over Misplaced Cards (Jan. 28, 2026). Summarizes 2026 SB 95, which would let police arrest cardholders who cannot immediately produce a card or card number.
- South Dakota Testimony in Opposition to SB 181 and SB 194: When Federal Law Is Misunderstood in State Policy (Feb. 10, 2026). Testimony and hearing record on SB 181, which would repeal the medical cannabis chapter upon federal rescheduling, and SB 194, a potency limit.
- Federal Rescheduling Increases ADA Scrutiny of South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Policies (July 25, 2026). Analyzes ADA questions for nursing-facility and recovery-housing cannabis bans after federal rescheduling.
- Medical Marijuana State Protections: The Full 12-Year History of the Appropriations Rider and Iowa’s Delegation Voting Record (June 2, 2026). Reprints the medical-marijuana appropriations rider from 2014 through 2026, with the Iowa delegation’s votes.
State rulemaking: ARSD 44:90, MMOC, DOH, Attorney General and Legislature
The 2026 rewrite of the state’s medical cannabis rules, the Attorney General’s opinion on federal rescheduling, and the committee and legislative record around both.
- 38 Rules, 19,821 Patients, 108 Licensed Establishments: South Dakota Rewrites Its Medical Cannabis Program (Sept. 9, 2026). Documents the Department of Health’s Aug. 21, 2026 filing of 38 proposed amendments to ARSD 44:90, with program counts and the hearing schedule.
- South Dakota’s Revised Medical Cannabis Rules Take Effect Nov. 5; Department’s Latest Posted Version Omits Two Proposed Corrective-Action Penalty Sentences (Oct. 27, 2026). Reports the Oct. 26 South Dakota Register listing 35 sections of Article 44:90 effective Nov. 5, 2026, and two corrective-action sentences missing from the Department’s posted version.
- South Dakota Has Rewritten Article 44:90 Before. The 38-Amendment Package Is Large. It Is Not the First. (Sept. 10, 2026). Places the 38-amendment package in the history of earlier Article 44:90 rewrites, including the fine schedule adopted a year earlier.
- South Dakota Wants to Rewrite Its Corrective-Action Rule. The Fine Can Still Come With It. (Sept. 11, 2026). Reads proposed §§ 44:90:12:03 and 44:90:12:11 together to show a fine can still accompany a corrective-action plan.
- How to File a Written Comment on South Dakota’s 38-Rule Medical Cannabis Package (Sept. 21, 2026). Step-by-step guide to putting a written comment into the Article 44:90 rulemaking record.
- An Emergency Rule Lasts Ninety Days. It Is Not a Winter Session. (Sept. 11, 2026). Explains the three grounds for emergency rules under SDCL 1-26-5 and why a 90-day rule is not a substitute for a legislative session.
- South Dakota Attorney General Publishes Opinion Concerning Impact Of Federal Rescheduling (Oct. 13, 2026). Reprints Attorney General Official Opinion 26-06 (Oct. 6, 2026) on the impact of federal rescheduling.
- South Dakota’s Attorney General Answered the Schedule III Question. The Department of Health Still Has Its Own Statute to Answer. (Oct. 13, 2026). Sets Official Opinion 26-06 beside the Department of Health’s separate duty under SDCL 34-20B-27.
- “We Don’t Think Anything Has Changed”: Full Transcript of the South Dakota AG’s Office on Federal Rescheduling (Oct. 25, 2026). Full transcript of the Attorney General’s Office presentation on federal rescheduling to the MMOC on Oct. 13, 2026.
- South Dakota’s Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee Meets October 13. (Sept. 24, 2026). Explains the MMOC’s statutory role and the scheduling of its Oct. 13, 2026 meeting.
- HB 1160 Went Down in the Senate: South Dakota’s MMOC Repeal Bill Fails After Smoke-Out (Mar. 11, 2026). Recounts HB 1160, the 2026 bill to repeal the MMOC, from House passage through a Senate smoke-out to its 15–19 defeat on the Senate floor on March 9.
Litigation, petitions and courts
Administrative petitions, open-records disputes and court decisions that test how federal and state cannabis law apply. Where the publisher is a party, the article says so.
- South Dakota Health Department Declines Requested Ruling on WeedPress Publisher’s Cannabis Scheduling Petition (Oct. 29, 2026). Reports the Department of Health’s Oct. 22, 2026 letter declining the Aug. 31 declaratory-ruling petition, with the letter linked.
- WeedPress Asks South Dakota Health Department to Rule Whether Schedule I Cannabis Still Fits the State’s Own Statute (Aug. 31, 2026). The Aug. 31, 2026 petition asking the Department to rule whether Schedule I cannabis still fits SDCL 34-20B-11.
- South Dakota DOH Avoids the Merits on Cannabis Scheduling, Hides Behind Procedure (Mar. 19, 2026). The Department’s March 19, 2026 response rejecting the February petition on procedural grounds, with the redacted letter.
- South Dakota’s Schedule I Problem Is Now in the Administrative Record (Feb. 23, 2026). Announces the February 2026 petition for declaratory ruling and scheduling review filed with the Department of Health.
- The South Dakota DOH Already Has a Declaratory Ruling Process — Here’s the Form (Feb. 19, 2026). Explains the Department of Health’s declaratory-ruling procedure in ARSD 44:62:01.
- Who Picked the Anti-Marijuana Speakers? South Dakota Legislature Says State Law Lets It Keep That Secret (Oct. 29, 2026). Documents the Legislative Research Council’s denial of an open-records request about how MMOC outside speakers were chosen.
- Iowa Court of Appeals: A Medical Cannabidiol Card Does Not Automatically Defeat a Drug-Dog Alert (Sept. 3, 2026). Reports State v. Leonard, in which the Iowa Court of Appeals held a medical cannabidiol card did not defeat probable cause from a drug-dog alert.
- Utah Says Its Psilocybin Clinics Are Safer Than A Church. Iowa Just Let A Church Prove It Could Be Safe Too. (Oct. 25, 2026). Covers the Tenth Circuit’s Oct. 5, 2026 decision in Jensen v. Utah County and the Iowa Board of Pharmacy’s registration of the Iowaska Church of Healing.
- Iowaska Church Of Healing Oral Argument In DC Court (Nov. 24, 2025). Notes from the D.C. Circuit argument in In re Iowaska Church of Healing, No. 25-1140, including questions about 21 U.S.C. § 822(d).
- STANDING AKIMBO, LLC v. UNITED STATES (Feb. 26, 2022). Reprints Justice Thomas’s statement respecting denial of certiorari in Standing Akimbo, LLC v. United States (June 28, 2021).
- Minnesota Supreme Court Issues Pair Of Rulings Stating Federal Ganja Prohibition Still Preempts Possession Of State Legalized Medical Cannabis Because No Exemption Has Yet Been Granted (Nov. 6, 2021). Reprints two 2021 Minnesota Supreme Court rulings holding that federal law preempted orders requiring employers to reimburse medical cannabis costs.
Testing labs and establishment compliance
Who tests South Dakota’s medical cannabis, how many licensed businesses remain, and what the Department has put in the public record about both.
- South Dakota Had Two Medical Cannabis Testing Labs. Now It Has One. Nobody Has Explained Why. (Oct. 26, 2026). Documents Triverity Analytical’s removal from the state establishment list and its LLC’s dissolution, leaving one licensed testing lab.
- South Dakota Reports Fewer Cannabis Businesses—but Not Why Their Licenses Disappeared (Aug. 2, 2026). Tracks Department of Health establishment counts from 139 in SFY 2023 to 105 on the July 14, 2026 list, and the absence of public reasons.
- South Dakota Medical Cannabis Establishments Drop 11% as National License Counts Continue Multi-Year Decline (July 31, 2026). Breaks down the 105 establishments on the July 14, 2026 list by type, an 11 percent drop from FY 2025.
- My Written Comments to South Dakota Health: Put the Numbers in the Rulemaking Record (Sept. 10, 2026). Written comment asking the Department to put program numbers in the Article 44:90 rulemaking record.
- After Reading South Dakota’s 54-Page Cannabis Rule Draft, I Filed a Supplemental Comment on What Form 14 Doesn’t Explain (Sept. 14, 2026). Supplemental comment on proposed §§ 44:90:12:03 and 44:90:12:11 and the Department’s regulatory impact analysis (Form 14).
- South Dakota’s Lack Of Testing Labs For Marijuana: Cause For Concern? (Dec. 8, 2025). Earlier look at South Dakota’s two licensed testing labs and the limited role of the state Public Health Laboratory.
Selection: articles by WeedPress publisher Jason Karimi, chosen for primary-source documentation. Corrections and suggestions: see Corrections & Right of Reply. Last reviewed: Oct. 29, 2026.
