On Tuesday evening, the Yankton County Commission held a meeting with 20 items considered on the agenda.
The major issue before the Commission was the first four applicants wanting medicinal marijuana, or medical cannabis, businesses in the county. Three different licenses could be applied for: dispensary, cultivation, and/or manufacturing.
Two applicants, Mike Barkl, for A 2 Z, LLC, and Kristen Kozak and Lauren Soukup, for Root 52, applied for dispensary licenses. Nathan Eastman, of RiverBend Edge, LLC, applied for a cultivation license. Estelle Johnson and Amy Johnson, of Happy Flower Healing Inc, applied for all three licenses.
Barkl made his case to the commission for his location at the intersection of Highway 81 and Highway 46 …
All six licenses were approved unanimously by the Commission, clearing them for consideration by the State.
There currently is much confusion how these license applications will be processed and implemented, due to our state legislature considering no fewer than 50 bills concerning cannabis in one form or another. More than one Commissioner expected a “Wild West” scene in Pierre.