Melissa Mentele,a 40-year old mother of three, worked in healthcare for 20 years until she suffered a catastrophic injury while helping an Alzheimer’s patient out of bed, later developing a rare, “devastating” chronic pain condition called RSD/CRPS. After finding that medical cannabis worked wonders for her pain relief without the “dangerous and debilitating” side effects of prescription pills, she helped found New Approach South Dakota, a donor-funded, volunteer-staffed nonprofit that advocates locally for medical cannabis.
A regular attendee at any statewide meeting on the subject, Mentele noticed something seriously awry this legislative session when she arrived at the statehouse for a hearing on a bill that would allow patients with a doctor’s recommendation to legally access cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive medicinal compound found in cannabis.

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