South Dakota Department of Health

Indigenous Budz marijuana dispensary in Lake Andes. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Ban on added flavors in medical pot products shot down by legislative panel

BY: - November 7, 2023

Lawmakers swatted back an attempt to ban flavoring in marijuana edibles and vape products on Tuesday in Pierre. They also shot down a rule that would have forced cannabis manufacturers to test the rolling papers used to make pre-rolls – also known as joints — in addition to testing the pot inside them. The rules […]

(Getty Images)

State doesn’t inspect or license growing IV hydration clinics

BY: - August 27, 2023

The South Dakota Department of Health doesn’t inspect or license IV hydration clinics, which are increasingly popular places to treat ailments such as hangovers, fatigue and jet lag with supplements delivered intravenously. The clinics have appeared as retail storefronts, medical spas and Sturgis Rally vendor booths in South Dakota. The IV cocktails can cost anywhere […]

Tim Blakeley, manager of Sunset Junction medical marijuana dispensary, shows marijuana plant buds on May 11, 2010, in Los Angeles, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Medical marijuana cards surpass 11,500

BY: - August 21, 2023

More than 11,500 South Dakotans hold medical marijuana cards two years after medical cannabis became legal in South Dakota. That’s well ahead of projections made by the state when the program first started in 2021, said Jennifer Seale, the state Department of Health’s medical cannabis program administrator. The state began issuing cards in November 2021 […]

Attendees at the 2023 South Dakota Suicide Prevention Conference take video of an inspirational message for those in need, at the direction of keynote speaker Kevin Hines. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

‘I want to speak life into people’: State takes all-in approach to suicide prevention

BY: - August 11, 2023

SIOUX FALLS — Roslyn Ward lost her 35-year-old son to suicide last October. The loss turned the Lemmon mother into an advocate for suicide prevention, and she founded an organization called “Hope … Your Life Matters.”  Ward was on hand Friday in Sioux Falls for the South Dakota Suicide Prevention Conference to gather ideas, inspiration […]

A postcard and agenda on display at the South Dakota Suicide Prevention Conference, held Aug. 10-11, 2023, in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

‘Rethinking Suicide’: Expert urges South Dakota audience to challenge assumptions

BY: - August 10, 2023

SIOUX FALLS — The Centers for Disease Control says up to 45% of the people who kill themselves had no history of mental illness. Psychiatrists and psychologists think 90% of them have such a history. The disconnect between the two figures is one reason health care professionals need to look beyond their assumptions if they […]

(Illustration by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Transgender rights group’s lawsuit against state unlikely to be resolved until 2024

BY: - May 17, 2023

More than a year could pass before a lawsuit alleging gender discrimination by the state of South Dakota is resolved. The Transformation Project, a nonprofit advocacy group working on behalf of transgender South Dakotans, filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Kristi Noem and the South Dakota Department of Health late last year after the department […]

(Darwin Brandis/iStock Getty Images Plus)

How South Dakota will spend the first of $54 million from national opioid settlements

BY: - April 3, 2023

South Dakota received over $3.5 million from a national opioid lawsuit settlement in the last few months — the beginning of over $54 million delivered to the state in the next two decades. Now, the state, cities and counties are figuring out how to spend that money, focusing on opioid addiction treatment, prevention and education. […]

(Illustration by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Transgender advocacy group sues state over contract cancellation

BY: - February 9, 2023

On the same day South Dakota lawmakers sent a bill to bar certain kinds of health care for transgender youth to Gov. Kristi Noem’s desk, a transgender advocacy organization filed suit against the state over her abrupt cancellation of a Department of Health contract late last year. The Transformation Project’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. […]

Aerial photo of the Capitol building in Pierre. (Getty Images)

Bill legalizing fentanyl testing strips passes House committee

BY: - January 25, 2023

A bill that would decriminalize fentanyl test strips in South Dakota passed the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday with a 11-2 vote. Fentanyl test strips are small bits of paper that can detect the presence of the synthetic opioid, which is sometimes laced with other drugs and has a high mortality rate. Under current law, the […]

An employee of the Rapid City Public Library hands out free COVID-19 tests. (Courtesy of Rapid City Public Library)

1 million free COVID tests, one year later: Some used, some not, some nearly thrown out

BY: - January 4, 2023

Mellette County Emergency Manager Karen O’Brien has hundreds of unused, free COVID-19 tests sitting in a box in her office. With COVID-19 still circulating across South Dakota and the country, she’d gladly hand them out to any residents of the rural, south-central South Dakota county who want them. But they expired in November, according to […]

Jack Fonder is the community health worker for The Transformation Project in Sioux Falls. He was hired in September 2022. (Courtesy of Jack Fonder)

Transgender employee at center of contract controversy pledges to fight on

BY: - December 30, 2022

Jack Fonder trusted his doctor. He’d spent years under her care, and she understood his medical history. But that changed when he transitioned. “It was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had,” he recalled. Fonder is a transgender man – a person whose gender identity is as a man, but was assigned female sex […]

Inside the state Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Noem appoints new secretary of health

BY: - December 22, 2022

Three days after the previous secretary of the state Department of Health retired, Gov. Kristi Noem has appointed Melissa Magstadt to lead the department, according to a Thursday news release from the governor’s office. Magstadt’s appointment will be effective on the next state work day, which is Tuesday. “Melissa has proven her ability to provide […]