Cannabis in South Dakota: lounges, dispensaries & laws
In South Dakota, medical cannabis is legal. Medical possession: three ounces or less of cannabis (flower), plus the quantity of cannabis products — including concentrates — set by Department of Health rule (SDCL 34-20G-1, 34-20G-2). Cardholders with a cultivation endorsement may additionally possess two flowering and two non-flowering plants, plus the cannabis produced from those plants if it is kept at the cultivation site. Exact concentrate/edible sublimits in ARSD 44:90 — Not confirmed, verify with state regulator.
Can you legally consume on site in South Dakota?
Not permitted
No. South Dakota does not license or permit cannabis consumption lounges, cafes, or any on-site/social consumption venue. The medical cannabis statute recognizes only four establishment types — cultivation facilities, testing facilities, product manufacturing facilities, and dispensaries (SDCL 34-20G-1) — and there is no hospitality, on-site-consumption, or social-use license category anywhere in SDCL 34-20G or ARSD 44:90. Any such venue would also run directly into SDCL 34-20G-18(3)(b), which withholds legal protection from smoking or vaping cannabis 'in any public place or any place that is open to the public.' There is no municipal opt-in mechanism: cities and counties can restrict or zone out dispensaries but have no authority to authorize a consumption venue the state has not created. No licensed lounge is operating anywhere in South Dakota. The only nuance is tribal land — several tribal nations (notably the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, which opened the state's first dispensary in 2021, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe on Pine Ridge) regulate cannabis under their own sovereign codes rather than state law, so tribal rules on where consumption is allowed can differ; check directly with the tribe rather than assuming a lounge exists.
South Dakota cannabis laws at a glance
- Legal status
- Medical Only
- Medical since
- 2020
- Medical possession
- Three ounces or less of cannabis (flower), plus the quantity of cannabis products — including concentrates — set by Department of Health rule (SDCL 34-20G-1, 34-20G-2). Cardholders with a cultivation endorsement may additionally possess two flowering and two non-flowering plants, plus the cannabis produced from those plants if it is kept at the cultivation site. Exact concentrate/edible sublimits in ARSD 44:90 — Not confirmed, verify with state regulator.
- Purchase limit
- Three ounces of flower per rolling 14-day period. The limit is transaction-by-transaction: each purchase is deducted immediately and is restored 14 days after that specific purchase date (SD DOH Cardholder Purchase Limits). Separate per-transaction caps for concentrates/edibles — Not confirmed, verify with state regulator.
- Home cultivation
- Medical only, and only if the patient's registry card carries the cultivation designation (a $20 add-on requested at application). Limit is two flowering cannabis plants and two non-flowering plants per authorized cardholder. Plants must be in an enclosed, locked facility (SDCL 34-20G-2(1)). Landlords are not required to allow cultivation on rental property (SDCL 34-20G-27). No home grow for non-patients — adult-use cultivation is illegal. Note: NORML's page still says 'three plants,' which reflects the original 2020 IM 26 text; the current statute and DOH guidance say two flowering / two non-flowering.
- Public consumption
- Prohibited. SDCL 34-20G-18(3) says the medical cannabis chapter does not authorize, and does not shield anyone from penalty for, smoking or vaping cannabis (a) on any form of public transportation, (b) in any public place or any place that is open to the public, or (c) by anyone under 21. Property owners and businesses are expressly not required to permit smoking or vaping on their premises (SDCL 34-20G-27). Because the conduct falls outside the chapter's protection, it is handled under general drug law — possession of 2 oz or less is a Class 1 misdemeanor (up to 1 year jail / $2,000), and rule violations under the program are a Class 2 misdemeanor. Exact charging practice varies by jurisdiction — verify locally.
- Minimum age (medical)
- No statutory minimum age to be a qualifying patient — minors may enroll, with the person responsible for the minor's medical decisions submitting the application and acting through a designated caregiver (SDCL 34-20G-29, 34-20G-30). Designated caregivers must be at least 21. Smoking or vaping cannabis is not authorized for anyone under 21 (SDCL 34-20G-18(3)(c)), so under-21 patients are limited to non-inhaled forms.
- Out-of-state medical cards
- Yes — and unusually strong. SDCL 34-20G-3 protects a 'nonresident cardholder' from arrest, prosecution, or penalty for transporting, purchasing, possessing, or using medical cannabis in South Dakota, subject to the same three-ounce cap plus rule-set product amounts. Note the word 'purchasing': South Dakota is one of the few reciprocity states that lets out-of-state patients actually buy at in-state dispensaries, not merely possess. Carry your home-state card and matching photo ID. Individual dispensaries can still set their own policies and some may decline out-of-state cards, so call ahead. The precise definition of 'nonresident cardholder' (including any days-in-state threshold) is in SDCL 34-20G-1 — verify the current text before relying on it.
- Qualifying conditions
- Moderately broad and partly open-ended. SDCL 34-20G-1 defines 'debilitating medical condition' to include a chronic or debilitating disease or its treatment producing severe/persistent pain, cachexia or wasting, severe nausea, seizures, or severe and persistent muscle spasms, plus named diagnoses including cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, epilepsy, and PTSD. The DOH describes the list as 'including but not limited to,' and the department may add conditions by rule. Certification requires a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship with an in-person exam.
No listings in South Dakota yet
We have not verified any cannabis businesses in South Dakota so far. If you run a lounge, dispensary or shop here, you can put your city on the map.
Cities in South Dakota
Visiting South Dakota
There is nowhere legal for a visitor to consume in South Dakota. No lounges exist, smoking or vaping is barred in any public place or place open to the public, hotels are private property that are not required to allow it (nearly all Black Hills and Sioux Falls properties are non-smoking with cleaning fees), and national/state parks and the Sturgis rally grounds are federal or state land where cannabis remains flatly illegal. Realistically that leaves a private residence you have permission to use, or a private rental where the owner has explicitly allowed it. The one genuine advantage: if you hold a valid medical card from another state, SDCL 34-20G-3 lets you legally buy and possess up to three ounces at a South Dakota dispensary — a rare privilege — so the problem is consumption space, not access. Keep product sealed and in the trunk while driving; DUI enforcement is aggressive along I-90 and I-29, and tribal jurisdictions such as Flandreau and Pine Ridge operate under their own separate cannabis codes.
What changed recently
No adult-use law. Amendment A (2020) was struck down by the South Dakota Supreme Court in 2021 on single-subject grounds; Measure 27 (2022) and Measure 29 (2024, ~44% yes) both failed at the ballot, so recreational legalization remains off the books as of July 2026. Recent activity has been restrictive rather than expansive: SL 2024 ch 134 repealed SDCL 34-20G-8, -9, -10, -11 and -16, and SL 2024 ch 135 amended the employment provisions to allow adverse action against medical patients in safety-sensitive jobs. MPP reports that further bills to narrow the medical program's affirmative-defense protections were introduced and killed in committee in early 2026. Nothing pending appears likely to authorize consumption lounges. Verify the 2026 session outcome with the Legislature before publishing.
South Dakota cannabis questions
Is cannabis legal in South Dakota?
Medical cannabis is legal as of 2026-07-19.
Can you smoke in public in South Dakota?
Prohibited. SDCL 34-20G-18(3) says the medical cannabis chapter does not authorize, and does not shield anyone from penalty for, smoking or vaping cannabis (a) on any form of public transportation, (b) in any public place or any place that is open to the public, or (c) by anyone under 21. Property owners and businesses are expressly not required to permit smoking or vaping on their premises (SDCL 34-20G-27). Because the conduct falls outside the chapter's protection, it is handled under general drug law — possession of 2 oz or less is a Class 1 misdemeanor (up to 1 year jail / $2,000), and rule violations under the program are a Class 2 misdemeanor. Exact charging practice varies by jurisdiction — verify locally.
Are there cannabis lounges in South Dakota?
No. South Dakota does not license or permit cannabis consumption lounges, cafes, or any on-site/social consumption venue. The medical cannabis statute recognizes only four establishment types — cultivation facilities, testing facilities, product manufacturing facilities, and dispensaries (SDCL 34-20G-1) — and there is no hospitality, on-site-consumption, or social-use license category anywhere in SDCL 34-20G or ARSD 44:90. Any such venue would also run directly into SDCL 34-20G-18(3)(b), which withholds legal protection from smoking or vaping cannabis 'in any public place or any place that is open to the public.' There is no municipal opt-in mechanism: cities and counties can restrict or zone out dispensaries but have no authority to authorize a consumption venue the state has not created. No licensed lounge is operating anywhere in South Dakota. The only nuance is tribal land — several tribal nations (notably the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, which opened the state's first dispensary in 2021, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe on Pine Ridge) regulate cannabis under their own sovereign codes rather than state law, so tribal rules on where consumption is allowed can differ; check directly with the tribe rather than assuming a lounge exists.
Can you grow cannabis at home in South Dakota?
Medical only, and only if the patient's registry card carries the cultivation designation (a $20 add-on requested at application). Limit is two flowering cannabis plants and two non-flowering plants per authorized cardholder. Plants must be in an enclosed, locked facility (SDCL 34-20G-2(1)). Landlords are not required to allow cultivation on rental property (SDCL 34-20G-27). No home grow for non-patients — adult-use cultivation is illegal. Note: NORML's page still says 'three plants,' which reflects the original 2020 IM 26 text; the current statute and DOH guidance say two flowering / two non-flowering.
Does South Dakota accept out-of-state medical marijuana cards?
Yes — and unusually strong. SDCL 34-20G-3 protects a 'nonresident cardholder' from arrest, prosecution, or penalty for transporting, purchasing, possessing, or using medical cannabis in South Dakota, subject to the same three-ounce cap plus rule-set product amounts. Note the word 'purchasing': South Dakota is one of the few reciprocity states that lets out-of-state patients actually buy at in-state dispensaries, not merely possess. Carry your home-state card and matching photo ID. Individual dispensaries can still set their own policies and some may decline out-of-state cards, so call ahead. The precise definition of 'nonresident cardholder' (including any days-in-state threshold) is in SDCL 34-20G-1 — verify the current text before relying on it.