A state-spanning sting operation in June drew indictments for the owners of five smoke shops in South Dakota this week, according to Attorney General Marty Jackley.
The indictments, issued between Sept. 16 and Tuesday, were the result of targeted purchases of products marketed as legal in stores in Aberdeen, Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City.
Authorities suspected the products — some made using hemp-derived but chemically modified ingredients, others made with chemicals marketed as “magic mushrooms” — contained illegal compounds or were sold for the express purpose of intoxication.
“Every one of the five shops where we did buys had illegal drugs,” Jackley said.
Only one shop owner was indicted on felony charges. In that case, originating with a purchase at Masterpiece Smoke Shop in Pierre, the owner is alleged to have sold felony amounts of marijuana that had been marketed as legal hemp. That charge was tied to pre-rolled “Thumpers” joints, according to court documents.
That owner is also alleged to have sold a product called “Legal Magic Mushrooms” that allegedly contain a controlled substance called psilocin. The owner also faces a felony charge of distributing drugs in a drug-free zone.
The other shops targeted were All the Smoke in Aberdeen, Puff City in Sioux Falls, Blazin’ Aces Smokes and Vape in Sioux Falls, and ZyGlam Smoke Shop in Rapid City. The charges in those cases are misdemeanors.
Jackley announced the indictments at the Law Enforcement Center in Sioux Falls, flanked by officials from multiple agencies on one side and posters showing a package of “magic mushroom” chocolates on the other.
Many of the products sold by smoke shops across South Dakota are marketed as being derived from hemp and therefore legal under the 2018 federal farm bill, but Jackley said the packaging makes clear that “these are not agricultural products.”
“They’re clearly packaged for kids,” he said.
Lawmakers in South Dakota passed a bill in 2024 to bar the sale — but not the possession — of products whose hemp-based intoxicants are chemically modified. That crime is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Local police in Rapid City conducted a compliance check targeting businesses suspected of selling modified hemp earlier this year. As of Wednesday, the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office was still waiting on lab test results for the products purchased from eight shops in that operation.
You can read the full article at South Dakota Searchlight.