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South Dakota Department of Health Selects Accela to Power Medical Cannabis Cards and License Applications

San Ramon, Calif. (December 7, 2021) — Accela, the leading provider of cloud-based solutions for state and local government, today announced that the South Dakota Department of Health will use two components of Accela’s Cannabis Regulation ecosystem to regulate and support the state’s new medical cannabis program. 

South Dakota began accepting and issuing patient and caregiver card applications for medical cannabis last month, following the passage of Initiated Measure 26 in fall 2020. Accela’s Cannabis Regulation software application, coupled with an expert partner ecosystem, including Accela’s gold partner Byrne Software Technologies, Inc., allows South Dakota to easily process patient and caregiver card applications, as well as business cannabis license applications. State officials utilize Accela to review all applications, and licensed businesses and dispensaries can readily identify qualified medical cannabis cardholders through cloudPWR’s web-based portal. 

“Accela is pleased to partner with the state of South Dakota’s Department of Health to provide cost-effective tech solutions that optimize workflows, enhance patient and staff ease-of-use, and allow for system flexibility to meet ever-changing cannabis regulations,” said Greg Felix, vice president of strategic solutions sales at Accela. “Our modern cloud platform, pre-configured Cannabis Regulation solution, and expertise in both government and the cannabis industry allowed our partners, cloudPWR and Byrne Software Technologies, Inc., to complete the cannabis business licensing and HIPAA HiTrust compliant patient and provider registry installation in just 35 days. Accela software, powered by Microsoft Azure, also ensures the highest level of system security.”

“The Accela Cannabis Regulation solution best met our needs by enabling effective qualification and identification of our patients and providers, proper vetting of businesses, and quick installation that met our statutory deadline. We look forward to providing our residents with a simple, fast, and compliant experience,” said Lynne Valenti, deputy secretary of the South Dakota Department of Health.

Accela Cannabis Regulation eases agency burdens in licensing cannabis cultivation, processing, and retail businesses as well as medical patient and provider management. With automated workflows, flexible license types, and strong compliance functionality, Accela Cannabis Regulation makes regulatory agencies more efficient and responsive. To learn more about Accela’s platform and solutions, please visit https://www.accela.com/solutions/.

About Accela

Accela provides market-leading cloud solutions that empower the most innovative state and local governments around the world to build thriving communities, grow businesses, and protect citizens. More than 275 million citizens globally benefit from Accela’s solutions, which are powered by Azure, for permitting, licensing, code enforcement, and service request management. Accela’s fast-to-implement Civic Applications, built on its robust and extensible Civic Platform, help agencies address specific needs today, while ensuring they are prepared for any emerging or complex challenges in the future. The company was recently recognized as a 2021 Microsoft US Partner Award winner for its innovative SaaS solutions to help governments respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was named as one of the Largest East Bay Tech Employers by San Francisco Business Times. Accela is headquartered in San Ramon, California, with additional offices around the world. For more information, visit www.accela.com.