South Dakota lawmakers on Tuesday voted to increase the price of a medical cannabis business license by nearly 70%, South Dakota Searchlight reports. The 4-1 vote by the Legislature’s Rules Review Committee raises the fee to $9,000 from $5,310.
Emily Kerr, the state medical cannabis program administrator, told the committee that the fee increase will cover the program’s administrative costs, including three new employees who oversee the program and process medical cannabis card applications, inspect dispensaries and grow operations, and investigate complaints.
Kerr said that the state is averaging about 13,000 medical cannabis cardholders at any given time and that “the program has grown and been utilized at a rate that was much faster than initially projected.” There are currently 68 dispensaries in operation statewide, along with 38 cultivation sites, 18 manufacturing sites, and two testing laboratories. Each of those businesses, Kerr said, “require thorough review of initial annual renewal applications” and the agency provides “technical guidance and customer service,” as well as an “inspection program to investigate complaints,” and that regulators try to make sure their “getting in there at least annually, if not more.”
The change is expected to return $346,860 in increased revenue in the first, partial year, and $490,770 in increased revenue in subsequent years.
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