A new law barring the production or sale of high-inducing, hemp-derived cannabis products will take effect Monday after a judge declined to block it.

Hemp Quarters 605, a Pierre-based shop that sells those products, filed a lawsuit earlier this month in U.S. District Court in South Dakota. The business claims the new law’s provisions are unconstitutional and in conflict with federal law.

The 2018 federal farm bill legalized the production and sale of industrial hemp and hemp-derived products, provided they contain less than 0.3% of the intoxicating compound delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, by dry weight. 

House Bill 1125, signed into law in March by Gov. Kristi Noem, targets five types of chemicals that appear at low levels in hemp plants. The chemicals can be synthesized and added in amounts large enough for hemp products to ape the intoxicating effects of the delta-9 THC found in marijuana. 

Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, even though it’s legal in some states and medical marijuana is legal in South Dakota. 

A violation of the new law will be a class 2 misdemeanor, the state’s lowest-level criminal offense. Like most laws adopted by the Legislature, its effective date is July 1.

Products like gummies, vape pens and smokable hemp containing the chemicals targeted by the new law are widely available across South Dakota. They’re sold in gas stations, grocery and liquor stores and in specialty smoke shops like Hemp Quarters 605.

The company had asked U.S. District Judge Eric Schulte to issue a preliminary injunction to block the law from taking effect as the case plays out in court. 

At a hearing on that injunction Thursday in Pierre, Hemp Quarters 605 representatives testified that hemp-derived products constitute more than two-thirds of their retail business. 

State Senate votes to back stricter version of ban on sale of ‘diet weed’

They argue the state is violating the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause by interfering with the sale of federally legal products across state lines. An injunction is appropriate, they said, because they will suffer irreparable harm – namely the potential closure of their business – when the law takes effect. 

To earn a preliminary injunction, plaintiffs must first prove they’re likely to “prevail on the merits,” according to an opinion that Judge Schulte filed electronically on Saturday. If the plaintiff – the hemp store in this case – is able to hit that mark, a judge must then find that the plaintiff would suffer irreparable harm without an injunction. The judge must also consider the wider implications of an injunction on other “interested parties” – in this case, the state and those affected by the new law.

A preliminary injunction denial does not settle the lawsuit or guarantee a win for the state, represented in the case by Attorney General Marty Jackley’s office.

Judge Schulte wrote that Hemp Quarters’ arguments weren’t enough to earn an injunction, even if the law might cause its business irreparable harm. 

The 2018 farm bill did not expressly prohibit states from enacting laws regulating the hemp trade. In fact, Schulte wrote, it did just the opposite, allowing states to impose “more stringent” regulations for hemp.

“The Legislature’s passage of HB 1125 falls squarely within the police powers traditionally reserved to states, as it is intended to promote the health and welfare of South Dakota’s citizens,” Schulte wrote.

Schulte cited a case challenging a Virginia law regulating hemp in which the judge came to a similar conclusion.

On the commerce clause question, Hemp Quarters had argued that a truck driver from Minnesota carrying federally legal hemp through South Dakota could be subject to state prosecution. 

Schulte disagreed. He wrote that the law wouldn’t apply in such a scenario, because it doesn’t criminalize the possession of hemp products. It only bans their production or distribution. 

The opinion also noted that the Hughes County state’s attorney has said it has no plans to immediately prosecute the owners of Hemp Quarters. The Attorney General’s Office has made no such promise, Schulte wrote, but lawyers for the state pointed out that “The South Dakota Attorney General’s Office does not typically prosecute misdemeanor offenses such as those contained within HB 1125.”

WAKONDA, S.D. (South Dakota News Watch) – South Dakota recently became the No. 1 producer of hemp fibers in the nation after being the third-to-last state to make it legal just three years ago.

“We’re the highest production and the highest in yield-per-acre, both of those,” said Bill Brehmer, board member of the South Dakota Industrial Hemp Association (SDIHA). “We are going to try to hold that for next year. This will be our first year to dominate that category.”

One of the people helping to do that is John Peterson, treasurer for SDIHA and a hemp farmer near Wakonda, about 50 miles southwest of Sioux Falls. He started Dakota Hemp LLC in 2021 when hemp was legalized, and it was the second farm in the state to grow the crop.

Peterson, a fifth-generation farmer, planted 40 acres of hemp the first year and has since expanded to 450 acres in the 2024 season.

He got started in hemp production after attending a meeting of people who already were growing the crop.

“Once hemp farming became legal with the 2018 Farm Bill, it came across my radar again as a reality and I saw the stories of farmers around the country growing CBD hemp but not much for the fiber or grain yet,” Peterson said. “I received a random postcard in the mail announcing an industrial hemp grower’s meeting in Hudson, S.D., in early spring of 2021. There were about eight farmers and 12 presenters.”

That was the start of Dakota Hemp.

“I remember calling one of the presenters on my way home from the meeting to further discuss grain and fiber hemp and get more information, as I really saw that being the better option for my farm. I decided to grow 40 acres of hemp on our farm in 2021, a dual purpose variety grown for the grain and fiber,” Peterson said.

After Peterson saw the results of that first crop, he added hemp into his rotation of corn and soybeans. The farm is now in its fourth year of planting hemp and plans to expand.

“I realized mid-season (in 2021) that this crop is going to thrive here in S.D. and fits very well into a crop rotation on a large-scale across the state,” he said. “I planted 130 acres of industrial hemp on my farm in 2022, nine varieties, including some of the first fiber variety trials in the Midwest, which did surprisingly well in the drought.”

The farm also plants 1,000 to 2,000 CBD plants for hemp products it produces, which include hemp oils, gels and creams.

Hemp legalized in US in 2018 and SD in 2021

Production of hemp became legal in the United State under the 2018 Farm Bill, which allowed the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) to start making rules and regulations for commercial hemp production starting in 2019 under the Agriculture Improvement Act.

South Dakota passed a bill through the Legislature to legalize the production of the crop, but Gov. Kristi Noem vetoed it, making it one of three states to outlaw the crop despite federal legalization. After the law was changed and improved in early 2020, the South Dakota Industrial Hemp Program began in 2021.

Since the legalization, the state has grown to more than 3,000 acres of hemp production, with around 40 farm across the state, and plans to continue growing in farms and acreage.

Hemp grows well in SD and helps other crops

South Dakota hemp growers bring in varieties of the plant from other countries, such as France and China, to grow the crop since it was illegal to grow in the U.S. between the 1930s and 2018.

“Well-developed hemp genetics of Canada and Europe work well in our latitude,” said Ken Meyer, board president of SDIHA. “Hemp is a photo sensitive plant. The long daylight hours that we experience in the summer are beneficial to growing hemp. Our lower summer temperatures compared to Southern climate zones are a big help. And we have enough average rainfall but not too much, which can cause — especially in warmer climates — more issues with bugs or diseases.”

Farmers who started hemp production, like Peterson, found the crop production in South Dakota had better results than neighboring states because of the soil and weather.

“We can really grow almost double the crop,” he said.

Growing hemp in fields also has a positive impact on the soil and how other crops grow. Peterson said there’s a clear difference in the organic matter that can be seen after planting a hemp crop.

“You do have good organic matter you’re putting back in the soil,” Peterson said. “Plus we’re giving our microbes a new food source. They have never eaten these hemp roots before. … That really activates good numbers on our soil.”

Materials South Dakota hemp is used for

Farmers grow three different varieties of hemp in South Dakota: CBD, fibers, and grain and seed. South Dakota reached No. 1 for grain and seed acres in 2022 and now reached No. 1 for fibers this year.

“We ended up getting enough farmers to plant over 2,500 acres into industrial hemp and launch S.D. to the No. 2 hemp-producing state in the U.S. in 2022, in just our second year of growing,” Peterson said.

CBD

CBD is a chemical found in hemp plants that can be used for different products. Some popular products CBD is used for:

• Tinctures, or liquid, extracted from the plant, like oil, used as herbal medicine
  
• Pills
  
• Capsules
  
• Food and beverages
  
• Creams and lotions
  
• Fibers
  

Grain and seed

The grain and seed is harvested from the top part of the hemp plant. Grain and seed is used for things such as:

• Fabrics
  
• Biofuel
  
• Food and oil
  

Fibers

Fibers are harvested from the stalk of the hemp plant. Hemp fiber make products that include:

• Animal bedding
  
• Textiles
  
• Paper
  
• Hempcrete
  

Top products from South Dakota

The hemp grown in South Dakota is used around the country for different materials, most of it for animal bedding and building materials like hempcrete.

Hemp animal bedding is made from the stalk of the hemp plant, also called the hurd. The compostable and absorbent material can hold 4 times its weight in moisture and clumps together when wet.

“The absorbency of the hurd is higher than most any other (material) out there. (People) like this because it quickly absorbs any moisture that is created,” Brehmer said.

Hempcrete is a bio-composite building material that is created by mixing and coating particles of hemp hurd that hardens into a natural material commonly used for insulation of walls, floors, roofs or windows.

“The hempcrete is the insulator and it is very mold resistant and termite resistant, allows the walls to breathe. So if any moisture gets in there, it dries up. That’s why they’re mold resistant,” Brehmer said.

The plant-based building material is slowly becoming more popular around the nation, and the industry will have to expand to keep up with the demand, he said.

“Eventually this is going to be what we will see in the future, is more and more homes could be built with hempcrete. Once we get it down to where it’s a fast process, (the demand) can go up quickly,” Brehmer said.

SD hemp industry’s value and plan to stay on top

The total value of South Dakota’s 2023 hemp crop was more than $23 million, Bremher said.

Nationally, hemp was nearly a $24 billion market in 2023, according to numbers documented by the USDA. That is expected to continue to climb in the coming years, reaching $30 billion by 2030, USDA said.

“2024 will kind of be a big year in developing and on the processing side,” Brehmer said.

As hemp becomes a more popular product, more farms across the United States have started to pop up, making it more of a challenge for South Dakota to stay No. 1 for production.

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit news organization. Read more in-depth stories at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they’re published. Contact us at info@sdnewswatch.org.

Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Orlando Cepeda, the slugging first baseman nicknamed “Baby Bull” who became a Hall of Famer among the early Puerto Ricans to star in the major leagues, has died. He was 86.

The San Francisco Giants and his family announced the death Friday night and a moment of silence was held as his photo showed on the scoreboard at Oracle Park midway through a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Our beloved Orlando passed away peacefully at home this evening, listening to his favorite music and surrounded by his loved ones,” his wife, Nydia, said in a statement released through the team. “We take comfort that he is at peace.”

It’s been a heartbreaking month for the Giants given Cepeda’s death followed Hall of Famer Willie Mays’ passing only 10 days earlier on June 18 at age 93.

“Man, what another gut punch,” said Giants manager Bob Melvin, who grew up in the Bay Area cheering for the team. “Another just incredible personality and just beloved here. Statue out front. The numbers he put up, there are a lot of legends here and he’s certainly right in the middle of that. To have it so close in proximity to Willie, it’s kind of staggering.”

Cepeda was a regular at Giants home games through the 2017 season until he dealt with some health challenges. He was hospitalized in the Bay Area in February 2018 following a cardiac event.

One of the first Puerto Rican stars in the majors but limited by knee issues, he became Boston’s first designated hitter and credits his time as a DH for getting him enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 1999 as selected by the Veteran’s Committee.

“Orlando Cepeda’s unabashed love for the game of baseball sparkled during his extraordinary playing career, and later as one of the game’s enduring ambassadors,” Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark said. “We will miss his wonderful smile at Hall of Fame Weekend in Cooperstown, where his spirit will shine forever, and we extend our deepest sympathies to the Cepeda family.’

When the Red Sox called Cepeda in December 1972 to inquire whether he’d like to be their first designated hitter, the unemployed player accepted on the spot.

“Boston called and asked me if I was interested in being the DH, and I said yes,” Cepeda recalled in a 2013 interview with The Associated Press in the 40th year of the DH. “The DH got me to the Hall of Fame. The rule got me to the Hall of Fame.”

He didn’t know what it would mean for his career, acknowledging, “I didn’t know anything about the DH.” The experiment worked out beautifully for Cepeda, who played in 142 games that season — the second-to-last in a decorated 17-year major league career. The A’s had released Cepeda only months after acquiring him from Atlanta on June 29, 1972.

Cepeda was celebrated at Fenway Park on May 8, 2013, for a ceremony celebrating his role as designated hitter. The Red Sox had invited him for their first home series of the season but his former Giants franchise was honoring the reigning World Series champions at the same time.

“It means a lot,” Cepeda said then. “Amazing. When you think everything’s finished, it’s only the beginning.”

He said then-A’s owner Charlie Finley sent him a telegram to call him within a 24-hour period or he’d be released. Cepeda didn’t meet the deadline and was let go in December 1972. He played in only three games for Oakland after the A’s acquired him for pitcher Denny McLain. Cepeda was placed on the disabled list with a left knee injury. He had 10 knee operations in all, sidelining him four different years.

Cepeda had been a first baseman and outfielder before joining the first class of baseball’s designated hitters under the new American League rule.

“They were talking about only doing it for three years,” he said. “And people still don’t like the idea of the DH. They said it wouldn’t last.”

The addition of the DH opened new opportunities for players such as Cepeda and others from his era who could still produce at the plate late in their careers but no longer played the field with the spot-on defense of their primes.

Cepeda was thrilled to have another chance.

He hit .289 with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs in 1973, starting off strongly with a .333 average and five homers in April. He drove in 23 runs in August on the way to DH of the Year honors. On Aug. 8 at Kansas City, Cepeda hit four doubles.

“That was one of the best years,” Cepeda recalled, “because I was playing on one leg and I hit .289. And I hit four doubles in one game. Both my knees were hurting, and I was designated hitter of the year.”

Cepeda topped Baltimore’s Tommy Davis (.306, seven homers, 89 RBIs) and Minnesota’s Tony Oliva (.291, 16 HRs, 92 RBIs) for top DH honors.

“It wasn’t easy for me to win the award,” Cepeda said. “They had some great years.”

Cepeda also knew little English when he arrived in the minor leagues in the mid-1950s, putting him among the first wave of Spanish-speaking players thrown into a different culture to play professional baseball, build new lives and send money back home.

It was an opportunity to succeed in a sport he loved, as long as daunting challenges off the field could be overcome.

Early on, Cepeda was told by a manager to go home to Puerto Rico and learn English before coming back to his career in the U.S.

“Coming here my first year, everything was a novelty to me, a surprise,” Cepeda recalled in a 2014 interview with the AP. “When I came to Virginia, I was there for one month and my father died. My dad said, ‘I want to see my son play pro ball,’ and he died the day before I played my first game in Virginia.

“From there I went to Puerto Rico and when I came back here, I had to come back because we didn’t have no money and my mother said, ‘You’ve got to go back and send me money, we don’t have money to eat,’” he said.

Cepeda had continued to be encouraged watching so many young players from Latin America arriving in the United States with better English skills, thanks in large part to all 30 major league organizations putting more emphasis into such training through academies in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

There also are English classes offered to young players during spring training and into extended spring, plus through the various levels of the minor leagues.

He had his troubles, too.

Cepeda was arrested in May 2007 after being pulled him over for speeding when officers discovered drugs in the car.

The California Highway Patrol officer arrested Cepeda after finding a “usable” amount of a white-powder substance that likely was methamphetamine or cocaine, while marijuana and a syringe were also discovered.

After his playing career ended, Cepeda was convicted in 1976 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, of smuggling marijuana and sentenced to five years in prison.

That conviction was probably one reason he was not elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Cepeda eventually was elected by the Veterans Committee in 1999.

Cepeda played first base during his 17 seasons in the majors, beginning with the Giants. He also spent time with St. Louis, Atlanta, Oakland, Boston and Kansas City. In the spring of 1969, Cepeda was traded by the Cardinals to the Braves for Joe Torre.

A seven-time All-Star who played in three World Series, Cepeda was the 1958 NL Rookie of the Year with San Francisco and NL MVP in 1967 with St. Louis, a city sad to see him go in that trade that brought Torre to town. In 1961, Cepeda led the NL with 46 homers and 142 RBIs. Cepeda was a .297 career hitter with 379 home runs.

It wasn’t until after that 1973 season as DH that Cepeda could look back and appreciate all he had accomplished that year — along with the big part he played in history and change in the sport.

“I just did it,” he said of learning the DH. “Every day, I say to myself, how lucky I am to be born with the skills to play ball.”

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb