Last verified: May 2026
Federal Installations & Federal Property
| Installation / Federal Property | Location | Personnel / Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ellsworth Air Force Base (28th Bomb Wing) | Box Elder (near Rapid City) | Active B-1B Lancer / future B-21 Raider operations. Court-martial / federal-disqualification exposure for service members regardless of state law. |
| South Dakota Air National Guard | Joe Foss Field, Sioux Falls | Federal-status drug testing applies. |
| Mount Rushmore National Memorial | Keystone (Black Hills) | National Park Service federal land. Cannabis prohibited. |
| Badlands National Park | Pennington / Jackson counties | National Park Service federal land. Cannabis prohibited. |
| Wind Cave National Park | Custer County | National Park Service federal land. Cannabis prohibited. |
| Jewel Cave National Monument | Custer County | National Park Service federal land. Cannabis prohibited. |
| Bureau of Indian Affairs land | Statewide reservations | Federal jurisdiction; tribal-program status governs use. |
Federal employees, active-duty service members, federal contractors, and TSA/FAA-regulated workers face categorical cannabis prohibition under federal law regardless of state-law authorization. The April 28 2026 Schedule III rescheduling does not modify Executive Order 12564 federal drug-free workplace requirements as of May 2026.
Major Private Employers
| Employer | Location | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Sanford Health | Sioux Falls HQ | One of the largest rural healthcare systems in the U.S. Federal-grant-funded; cannabis testing standard. |
| Avera Health | Sioux Falls HQ | Major regional provider. |
| Citibank (Citi) | Sioux Falls (national credit-card servicing) | Federal banking regulation; cannabis testing standard. |
| Wells Fargo | Sioux Falls operations | Federal banking regulation. |
| Smithfield / John Morrell | Sioux Falls (relocation under 2025 announcement) | Pork processing. Manufacturing-safety drug testing. |
| Daktronics | Brookings | Digital display manufacturing. |
| Raven Industries (CNH Industrial) | Sioux Falls | Agricultural technology. |
| South Dakota Mines | Rapid City | Research/engineering employer. |
| Ellsworth AFB & SD Air National Guard | Box Elder, Sioux Falls | Federal-employer + active-duty UCMJ exposure. |
SD is at-will employment with no statewide protections for medical-cannabis cardholders. SDCL § 34-20G-24 expressly preserves employer right to maintain drug-free workplace and prohibit cannabis use. Compassion-Act-equivalent registration is not a defense to termination for positive THC tests.
Why Federal Installations Are the Strictest
Federal installations have multiple overlapping cannabis-prohibition layers:
- Executive Order 12564 (Reagan, 1986) requires drug-free federal workplace. Cannabis use is grounds for removal.
- UCMJ Article 112a for active-duty service members. Cannabis use is a court-martial-eligible offense.
- SF-86 / Continuous Vetting for cleared positions. Cannabis use is a clearance-loss risk.
- DOT, FAA, FMCSA categorical prohibition for federally-regulated transportation positions.
The April 28, 2026 federal Schedule III rescheduling does not directly modify these layered prohibitions. Federal-installation employees face the same prohibition framework regardless of state-law authorization or IM 26 cardholder status.
Sanford Health & Avera Health — Healthcare Systems
SD’s two major healthcare systems — both Sioux Falls-headquartered — impose drug-free-workplace policies that apply to:
- Patient-facing clinical staff (physicians, nurses, technicians, therapists).
- Administrative staff including HR, IT, finance.
- Contract workers and consultants.
- Volunteers and visiting staff.
Both Sanford and Avera receive substantial federal-grant funding for clinical-research, federal Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement, and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) programs — producing federal-grant-compliance considerations alongside the standard healthcare drug-free-workplace standards.
Citi & Wells Fargo — Banking Hub
Sioux Falls is a major U.S. credit-card-servicing center. Citi and Wells Fargo have substantial Sioux Falls operations subject to federal banking regulation:
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) compliance.
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) supervision.
- Federal Reserve regulation.
Federal banking regulation produces uniform employer drug-testing standards. SAFE Banking Act remains pending in Congress as of May 2026; if passed, it would relieve some banking-side cannabis tensions but would not directly modify employer drug-testing requirements.
Smithfield / John Morrell — Pork Processing
Smithfield Foods’ John Morrell facility relocated to a new site under a 2025 announcement — the largest business investment in SD history per Gov. Rhoden’s office. Manufacturing-safety drug-testing applies; the high-injury food-processing environment produces routine post-accident testing.
Daktronics & Raven Industries — SD-Headquartered Manufacturers
- Daktronics (Brookings) — digital display manufacturer.
- Raven Industries (Sioux Falls; CNH Industrial subsidiary) — agricultural technology.
Both are SD-headquartered manufacturing companies that apply standard manufacturing-safety drug-testing programs.
South Dakota Mines — Research University
South Dakota Mines (Rapid City) is a research and engineering university with substantial federal-grant funding. Federal-grant-compliance considerations apply. Researchers, faculty, and graduate students with federal funding face federal-grant-compliance drug-testing.
The DOT-Regulated Worker
SD’s commercial-trucking workforce (servicing the Black Hills tourism economy, the ag-distribution network, and Sioux Falls’s distribution-and-logistics hub) is subject to federal DOT regulations (49 CFR Part 40 and Part 382). Cannabis use is categorically prohibited:
- Commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders.
- Aviation pilots and crew (FAA Part 67 medical clearance).
- Pipeline workers (PHMSA).
- Railroad workers (FRA).
Practical Notes by Employer Category
- Active-duty Air Force at Ellsworth. Do not use cannabis under any state authorization. UCMJ Article 112a applies.
- Civilian DoD employees and federal contractors. EO 12564, FAR 52.223-6, and SF-86/CV apply. IM 26 registration is not a defense.
- Sanford / Avera healthcare employees. Federal-grant-funded employer; cannabis testing standard.
- Citi / Wells Fargo banking employees. Federal banking regulation; cannabis testing standard.
- Smithfield / John Morrell pork processing. Manufacturing-safety drug-testing.
- Daktronics / Raven Industries manufacturing. Manufacturing-safety drug-testing.
- SD Mines academic-research staff. Federal-grant-compliance considerations.
For in-depth cannabis education, dosing guides, safety information, and research summaries, visit our partner site TryCannabis.org
Related on this site: SD Workplace Cannabis Protections, Send a Message, Contact CannabisSouthDakota.org.