RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – In March, Governor Noem signed House Bill 1125 which banned the manufacture and sale of certain chemically altered hemp products in South Dakota.

As of July 1, modifying and selling synthetic delta-8, delta-9 and delta-10 is illegal.

A new reality has hit smoke shops locally and throughout the state, as customers will no longer be able to buy hemp-derived products including delta-8, 9, and 10 on shelves.

Some feel banning the manufacture and sale of certain chemically altered hemp products was a bit harsh.

“I do think it was unnecessary. I think there is a place for stuff like delta-8 and delta-10. Especially for people just getting into THC, specifically elderly or people who don’t want to be on pharmaceuticals,” said Sales and Marketing Manager of Smoke Solutions, Rick Selk.

“It’s sad to see whenever a customer that actually needed it for like epilepsy or sleep or something. Then they can’t, they have to go spend more money and maybe they can’t afford it or resort to buying it on the street,” said the Manager of ZY Glam Smoke Shop Ben Rodriguez.

Rodriguez believes the new law won’t have a great impact on smoke shops but knows that each business is different.

“Businesses can always find different products to sell that don’t violate whatever rules or laws,” Rodriguez said.

Despite the idea of finding different products that are legal to sell, Smoke Solutions is already feeling the effects of the new legislation.

“A large portion of our products got taken with that, with the new law change. And again, in edibles in edibles, that’s the majority of everything that we carried, disposables and carts as well,” Selk said.

With Smoke Solutions and other local smoke shops being negatively impacted, Selk feels there’s still a silver lining.

“A lot of the less relevant products that weren’t moving as much, the ones that were less desirable for all of us, with those gone, it leaves an opening for these companies to make new more relevant products that match the current, the current laws,” Selk said.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2024 KOTA. All rights reserved.