PIERRE, SD (KELO) — A federal judge has refused to block a new South Dakota law that imposes new restrictions on industrial hemp.
The Legislature approved bill HB1125 during the 2024 session and Governor Kristi Noem signed it into law, taking effect on Monday, July 1. It prohibits the chemical modification or conversion of industrial hemp as well as the sale or distribution. The penalty for an offense is a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to 30 days in county jail.
Hemp Quarters 605, a downtown Pierre business, challenged the law as unconstitutional, in part because it allegedly violates the 2018 federal farm bill that allows the sale, shipping, transportation and l packaging of hemp products.
But U.S. District Judge Eric Schulte issued a 19-page opinion and order Saturday declining to issue the preliminary injunction requested by Hemp Quarters 605 in its attempt to delay the South Dakota law from taking effect.
Judge Schulte said, “The Legislature’s passage of HB 1125 clearly falls within the police powers traditionally reserved for the states, as it is intended to promote the health and welfare of the citizens of South Dakota. »
The federal judge also said the South Dakota legislation did not conflict with the 2018 farm bill passed by Congress. He pointed to a specific sentence in the farm bill that states: “Nothing in this subchapter preempts or limits any law of any State or Indian tribe that— (i) regulates the production of hemp; and (ii) is more stringent than this subchapter. »
As for Hemp Quarters 605’s claim that it could be sued, Judge Schulte said that seemed unlikely.
“The court was informed that the Hughes County Attorney would not prosecute the plaintiff for any violations of HB1125 during the pendency of this case, but the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office has not entered into such an agreement . Defendants’ counsel, however, also informed the court that the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office generally does not prosecute crimes such as those contained in HB 1125,” the judge said.
The bill was supported by the South Dakota Department of Health throughout the legislative process. The final version was approved by the Senate by a vote of 31 to 1 and by the House of Representatives by a vote of 69 to 1.
Judge Schulte emphasized, “There is a strong public interest in protecting the health and welfare of the citizens of South Dakota. The decision about how best to promote this interest is left, in our system of government, to the elected officials serving in the Legislature and the Governor. This Court must defer to these decisions unless they violate the law or the Constitution of the United States, which HB 1125 does not.”
