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The DEA’s Shift on Marijuana: What You Need to Know
Does federal rescheduling change South Dakota’s medical marijuana program? Not much, according to the state’s attorney general: Official Opinion No. 26-06, dated Oct. 6, 2026, concludes that federal rescheduling will likely have a “negligible impact” on the program. Status as of Oct. 19, 2026: the opinion is advisory, not a court ruling, and it treats the program’s future policy direction as a matter for South Dakota’s Legislature or voters.
What the South Dakota attorney general concluded
In Official Opinion No. 26-06, “Impact of Federal Rescheduling of Marijuana”, the South Dakota Attorney General’s office says rescheduling will likely have a “negligible impact” on South Dakota’s medical marijuana program. The opinion is dated Oct. 6, 2026; it was released publicly on Tuesday, Oct. 13, as reported by Marijuana Moment and Dakota News Now.
The two categories the opinion keeps separate
The opinion does not say the federal government “legalized” South Dakota’s program. It distinguishes FDA-approved marijuana products and the state-medical category from marijuana that remains in Schedule I. State licensing alone is not treated as a blanket exemption from federal requirements.
For state-licensed businesses, the opinion points to a federal compliance path: registering with the DEA under 21 C.F.R. 1301.13(k)(1).
What could still change in South Dakota
The opinion leaves the program’s future policy direction to South Dakota’s Legislature or voters. In other words, the attorney general is not reading the federal change as an automatic rewrite of state law. Any expansion or restriction of the program would have to come through South Dakota’s own lawmaking or ballot process.
Federally, the rescheduling fight is not over. In the separate DEA hearing, the judge’s Oct. 14 order continued a stay while new filings are considered; we track the dated documents on our marijuana rescheduling hub.
What this means for patients and operators
- Patients: the opinion expects rescheduling to have little practical effect on the state program.
- Licensed businesses: the opinion identifies DEA registration as the path to federal compliance; state licensing by itself is not described as enough.
- Everyone: attorney general opinions are advisory. Courts, the Legislature and voters can still shape the outcome.
Businesses weighing what DEA registration would require can start with Cannabis Industry Lawyer.
Related coverage
For background, see our Schedule III recap, how a federal appeals court treated the Schedule III order in a cannabis contract case, and our earlier explainer on South Dakota marijuana laws. Thomas and Miggy discussed the opinion on the Oct. 18, 2026 episode of Cannabis Legalization News.
Original source
By Thomas Howard, cannabis attorney. Thomas Howard practices cannabis law. General information, not legal advice.
Evidence
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