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South Dakotans to decide medical marijuana measure Nov. 7

Benefits, side effects of drug on society debated
By Carson Walker
Associated Press Writer

Editor's note: Part of a series of preview stories on selected ballot measures in the Nov. 7 general election.

South Dakota would join 11 other states that allow some medical patients to smoke marijuana to ease their pain and other medical problems if voters approve Initiated Measure 4 on Nov. 7.

Diseases and conditions that would be covered include: cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, severe or chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, severe or persistent muscle spasms and multiple sclerosis. The state Department of Health also could approve other medical conditions.

Though some states permit medical marijuana, residents still can be prosecuted in federal court.

Valerie Hannah of Deerfield said if the measure doesn't pass, she's moving to California, where medical marijuana is allowed - although she said she already uses limited amounts of it to quell her nerve pain.

"I'm the only person who will admit that they're a medical marijuana patient in South Dakota," she said in a telephone interview.

Hannah said she served in the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s and was exposed to chemical weapons that are basically causing her nerves to dissolve.

"And with that comes extreme, extreme pain," she said.

No prescription drug is as effective as a few hits of pot a few times a day, Hannah said.

"Not a whole joint. It's just a couple of tokes, a couple of hits off a pipe," she said.

Hughes County Sheriff Mike Leidholt said he empathizes with Hannah and others who suffer from chronic pain. But the relief it could offer some people doesn't justify the cost to society, he said.

Among Liedholt's points:

• It sends a mixed message to children on the use of drugs.

• People other than the patient could get the marijuana, as a lot of teens do now with alcohol.

• There have been great advances in prescription medications, so it's not necessary to go back to natural remedies such as marijuana.

• Law enforcement officers wouldn't be allowed to test if a driver with a prescription is under the influence of marijuana.

• The marijuana isn't subject to quality control standards that are a part of Food and Drug Administration approval, so there's no way to know the potency.

The law would allow each patient and caregiver up to six plants, which could produce from 2,700 to more than 13,000 joints every year, depending how well the plants are cultivated, he said.

"That's a lot of marijuana," Leidholt said. "If you're not going to use that much, what are you going to do with the rest of it? Are you going to share it with friends?"

Hannah, who no longer is able to work, said the measure is not an attempt to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, and it would not make pot widely available.

"This is not a way to get it into the hands of your children or my children or anybody else's. This is for legitimate people who need this," she said. "Everyone should have the freedom to choose their own medication."