Show notes
Brian Mulder is a Republican state representative for District 11 in Sioux Falls. He grew up on a farm in central Minnesota, served as a civilian military chaplain on U.S. bases in Germany from 2003 to 2008, and was executive pastor at Central Baptist Church in Sioux Falls before joining Volunteers of America, Dakotas, where he runs its community support provider services. He was first elected to the South Dakota House in 2022.
Recorded in October 2024 and first published Oct. 9, 2024, ahead of that year's general election. The Delta-8 bill he describes is 2024 House Bill 1125, which bans chemically modifying hemp into Delta-8, Delta-10 and other THC compounds and bans selling products made that way. Gov. Kristi Noem signed it in March 2024, and it took effect July 1, 2024, after a federal judge refused to block it.
Update (Oct. 2026): Mulder was re-elected in November 2024 and followed through on the kratom bill he previewed here. House Bill 1056, which bans preparing, selling or distributing certain kratom products, passed the House 66-0 and the Senate 35-0, and Gov. Larry Rhoden signed it on Feb. 25, 2025. His 2025 bill on what happens after a defendant is found not competent to stand trial, House Bill 1060, which would have required prosecutors to seek civil commitment when felony charges are dismissed, was set aside in House Judiciary by a 13-0 vote to defer it to the 41st day. At the federal level, the loophole he talked about is closing: the spending bill Congress passed in November 2025 rewrote the federal definition of hemp to exclude synthetic cannabinoids and products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container. The ban on synthetic cannabinoids takes effect Nov. 12, 2026, and Congress pushed most of the rest back to Dec. 11, 2026. Mulder is running for a third term. He and fellow incumbent Keri Weems advanced from the June 2, 2026 Republican primary, and on Nov. 3 they face Democrat Sonja Mentzer and Libertarian Tracey Quint for District 11's two House seats. (Sources are linked below.)
About the guest
Rep. Brian Mulder (South Dakota Legislature): https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4793/Detail
Brian Mulder (Ballotpedia): https://ballotpedia.org/Brian_Mulder
Volunteers of America, Dakotas: https://www.voa-dakotas.org/
The bills
2024 House Bill 1125 (Delta-8 and chemically modified hemp): https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24425
2025 House Bill 1056 (kratom): https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25454
2025 House Bill 1060 (civil commitment after a finding of incompetency): https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/25432
SDCL 27B-10-2 (existing law on civil commitment after a dismissed felony sex offense charge): https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/27B-10-2
Update sources
Targeted "diet weed" ban clears first hurdle in House committee (South Dakota Searchlight, Jan. 30, 2024): https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2024/01/30/targeted-diet-weed-ban-clears-first-hurdle-in-house-committee/
Law banning sale of some near-pot products takes effect, but won't prevent every legal high (South Dakota Searchlight, July 1, 2024): https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2024/07/01/law-banning-sale-of-some-near-pot-products-takes-effect-but-wont-prevent-every-legal-high/
Congress approves one-month delay of federal hemp THC restrictions (Akerman LLP, Sept. 2026): https://www.akerman.com/en/perspectives/congress-approves-one-month-delay-of-federal-hemp-thc-restrictions.html
Preparing for upcoming federal hemp changes (Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management): https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNOCM/bulletins/42840fb
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