South Dakota’s first non-tribal medical marijuana dispensary to close

(This story was updated on Nov. 12 with a co-owner’s comments and more details.)

South Dakota’s first licensed medical marijuana dispensary not on tribal land is closing next month.

Unity Rd. posted Friday on Facebook that it and The Hartford Connection in Hartford, South Dakota, will cease operations Dec. 7, according to Dakota News Now.

Unity Rd. opened on July 27, 2022 – 20 months after voters approved medical marijuana sales – and offered only flower and pre-rolls.

The Native Nations Cannabis had been selling medical marijuana in Flandreau since July 2021 because, as a sovereign Native American tribe, it was not subject to South Dakota’s rules.

‘Journey has been challenging’

“The journey has been challenging, as the cannabis industry in South Dakota has faced significant obstacles due to the state’s inability to establish an effective medical cannabis program that truly serves its residents,” the company stated on Facebook, according to Dakota News Now.

“From the beginning, we embarked on this venture with high hopes, only to find the goalposts moved time and again.

“Despite our relentless efforts to support and advance the cannabis movement in South Dakota, we believe that now is the right time for us to step away from the industry.”

South Dakota voters rejected a ballot measure on Nov. 5 that would have legalized recreational marijuana. It’s the third time such a measure has failed in the state.

Can’t survive without adult-use sales

B.J. Olson, co-owner of Unity Rd. and The Hartford Connection, said he sees no path forward for the business without the potential of adult-use sales.

“This is an absolute business decision,” Olson told Dakota News Now on Monday.

“I don’t see the positive outcome for us continuing down the road of medical marijuana.”

Olson told the news outlet he and co-owner Adam Jorgenson have lost an inordinate amount of money since entering South Dakota’s MMJ industry.

The business only recently started showing a profit – after Olson and Jorgenson cut costs and initiated layoffs, Dakota News Now reported.

Initiated Measure 29, funded by South Dakota’s MMJ industry, would have expanded on an adult-use initiative voters approved in 2020 that a state judge later rejected.

South Dakota has 38 licensed marijuana cultivators, 18 licensed cannabis product manufacturers, 68 licensed dispensaries and two licensed independent testing labs, according to a state presentation to lawmakers.