South Dakota Hemp Debate Taken to Dakotafest
The polarization surrounding the debate on whether industrial hemp should be legalized in South Dakota took center stage at the Dakotafest panel discussion which was held in Mitchell on Wednesday. Most of the discussants spent time presenting different options that could be considered as regulatory measures if hemp were to be legalized in the state. A lot of time was also spent discussing whether the benefits of legalizing hemp outweighed the risks that such a decision carried. Rep. Oren Lesmeister (R-Parade) argued that South Dakota will have the benefit of learning from other states, such as Colorado and North Dakota…