The House State Affairs committee passed a bill that determines what types of medical marijuana patients can consume

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - HB 10-58 is focused on regulating the different ways patients can consume medical cannabis.. as it would prohibit edible cannabis products such as gummies, candies, and other bakery items or food forms that could be created and sold in dispensaries.

Proponents of the bill state that edible cannabis can be enticing to children and teenagers but doesn’t prohibit patients from buying medical cannabis and making edible on their own.

Republican Representative Fred Deutsch of District Four is the prime sponsor of the bill.

”As you know when a person goes to a pharmacy to fill a prescription, it’s usually pretty clear that what you receive in your little bottle is medicine, but in the world of marijuana some of the products that the industry creates are easily confused for candy,” said Republican Representative Fred Deutsch of District Four.

Kitrick Jeffries, owner and director of compliance of Dakota Cannabis Consulting, opposes the bill.

He says the Department of Health has rules to avoid any cannabis packaging temptation toward children such as having child-resistant packaging and labeling cannot include anything appealing to children like animals or cartoon characters.

But he says making homemade edibles can be problematic.

“The manufacturer license that’s issued by the Department of Health has an opportunity to create a homogenous product that each edible has 10 milligrams of THC and that if you make those edibles at your home then one side of the pan maybe a little more potent than the other side of the pan, for instance in a batch of brownies,” said Kitrick Jeffries, owner and director of compliance of Dakota Cannabis Consulting.

HB 10-58 passed through the committee by a vote of 7 to 6. Representative Tim Goodwin of Rapid City voted yes to the bill while Representative Chris Johnson of Rapid City voted no.