July 20, 2022

The state’s first non-tribal marijuana dispensary is scheduled to open next week in Hartford.

Unity Rd. plans to open July 27. It’s a franchise from Colorado-based Item 9 Labs Corp. B.J. Olson and Adam Jorgensen, lifelong friends who both had careers in the wireless industry, are bringing it to South Dakota. They’ve started working with Unity Rd. as a consultant and will become franchisees once the state has reviewed Unity Rd.’s franchise registration application.

The two lived together during college, served as best man in one another’s weddings and now are business partners who envision up to three Unity Rd. locations in South Dakota.

“The only reason we’re in this unique and special spot is we committed, we made the choice to move forward,” Jorgensen said. “We bought property and committed to a building before we held a piece of paper and because we put it on the table and rolled the dice.”

The 2,500-square-foot dispensary is located at 404 W. Opal Lane in Hartford, near Interstate 90’s Exit 387.

Olson and his wife, Mindy, live in Hartford, and the partners decided to open there before Sioux Falls allocated its licenses.

“In Hartford, we’re right off the interstate, we’re the first city to the west, it’ a great community and a growing community … and we can really be part of that expansion,” Olson said.

They originally planned to offer medical and recreational marijuana but had to switch models when the measure that would have legalized it was declared invalid. South Dakota now will vote on it again in November, meaning 2023 would be the soonest Unity Rd. could sell for recreational use.

In the meantime, only those with a South Dakota-issued medical cannabis licenses can buy from Unity Rd. That means a tribal license or another state’s license will not be accepted.

“I think the biggest opportunity is to educate the public on who is going to be allowed in and who won’t be,” Olson said. “One of our biggest fears is the first week we’re open we’re going to be turning away a lot of people who have waited a long time to get relief.”

Once approved by a registered physician — there are about 100 of those statewide — who says a patient could benefit from medical cannabis, it’s about a two-week process to get a license, he said.

Those physicians aren’t listed publicly anywhere, “so you have to find them for yourself,” he continued.

Unity Rd. will begin by offering marijuana flower right away and then adding additional inventory such as edibles in the next few weeks.

“Something someone doesn’t have to smoke or cook down,” Olson said.

The location is staffed with a team of 11, including the local owners.

“We’re owner-operators, so you will see our faces on the floor,” Jorgensen said. “What’s most shocking is I’m blown away by the number of people who said: ‘This is my dream job. I’ve been waiting for this for years. This is the industry I want to work in.’ There is passionate belief in the product.”

Because of the limited inventory and the relatively few number of potential customers — there were only 1,545 licensed patients in the state as of Monday — hours will be shorter to start. Unity Rd. will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

“We want to be on the forefront of this industry,” Olson said. “We want to set the bar extremely high. We want to be leaders across the state.”