On July 1st, 2021, under initiated measure 26, medical marijuana became legal in South Dakota and since then Ruth Bouza, of Wagner, has put in a lot of hours to see her new business plan come to fruition. Bouza is opening a medical marijuana dispensary in Wagner and the ground breaking ceremony took place recently on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

“It is just very exciting to know that very soon we will be able to help people with many different ailments. For example, people that are going through chemo treatments right now will benefit greatly and if you’ve had cancer in the past we can help too,” stated Bouza.

To get to the point of breaking ground and seeing the dispensary, which will be called Ruthie’s, became a reality it involved learning the law and going through a very thorough licensing process at the state and city level. License renewal will happen on an annual basis for Bouza’s operations. The business is already a member of the Cannabis Industry Association of South Dakota (CIASD) and Bouza explained that they are linked with a few growers in the surrounding areas.

“Medical cannabis is new to our state so we all have a lot to learn and we want to make sure everyone in need of medical cannabis will be taken care of,” detailed Bouza. “We’ve had inquiries from Sioux Falls and other areas, people are excited and can’t wait for Ruthie’s to have the grand opening. As are we, this has been a long process and we’re happy to have gotten this far. The licensing process was anything but easy, we put at least one hundred hours into the state application process and many hours into the city application, not to mention $5000 non-refundable for each application. Definitely been a nail biter for the past few months.”

Running a business in Wagner is not a new concept for Bouza. She has been a licensed massage therapist in South Dakota for twenty years, in addition to working in school transportation service for twenty-three years. Bouza helps out with school bus driving and charter bus driving when needed. She also opened Custom Touch in Wagner ten years ago. It is a business that offers: vehicle detailing, tinting, graphic design, retail sound system sales and more. Bouza also sells Cannabidiol (CBD) products from this location.

Bouza’s husband is also a familiar face in Wagner. He operates Bouza Construction and Lumber. He has owned the company for about five years, but it has been in his family for around twenty years.

The couple has two sons, Michael and Timothy, and when they are not busy working they spend time at their cabin by the river. The family enjoys boating, fishing, hunting and trapping. Bouza also opened the Wagner Community Closet four years ago. It is a non-profit that accepts old household items and gently used clothing. Items are then cleaned, priced and sold. At year’s end, Bouza and the board then donate back proceeds to local organizations.

“We love it here in Wagner. The people in this community are friendly and kind,” she remarked.

Bouza was born in Switzerland and spent her childhood there, before moving to the United States at the age of eighteen. She knew as a little girl that she wanted to live in America. Bouza was a resident of Miller, South Dakota for twenty-three years and has now lived in Wagner for the past fourteen.

She noted, “(I) love how you can make all your dreams come true here in the U.S.”

Those dreams have always included an interest in finding better and more natural ways of well-being. As soon as South Dakota’s medical marijuana initiative was passed by voters, Bouza wanted to learn more about it.

“It is very interesting how a natural plant can do so much good for people. It’s a miracle plant,” she explained. “From PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder) to anxiety and so many other ailments, medical cannabis can be used to help people. It is all natural, non-habit-forming and does not hurt your kidneys or liver.”

Bouza anticipates that construction on the building for Ruthie’s will be completed in June of this year. An official opening date for the dispensary will depend on product availability, but she is hoping to be open for customers around mid-July. The dispensary will be located east of Wagner at 757 East Highway 45.

Zach Schoenfelder will be the manager of operations at the dispensary and “senior bud tender”. Schoenfelder has a lot of experience in this field. It will be his job to visit with customers, learn about their ailments and then provide assistance to them in order to find a helpful strain of cannabis.

“Each product sold is grown from seed to sale right here in our state,” pointed out Bouza.

The plan is for Ruthie’s to have medical cannabis in stock that can be sold in a variety of forms, such as: edibles, smokable products, lotions and oils. A customer will need a medical card in order to enter the dispensary.

She detailed, “Medical cards are issued to people that qualify. They can then come to my dispensary with that medical card and a picture ID that we run in our state database. Once cleared they can then enter the dispensary sales floor. Only people that pass the screening will get access to the sales floor.”

The future appears bright for Bouza and Ruthie’s. It is her hope that she will be able to hire more employees soon, as she foresees there will be an eventual need for four full-time workers at the dispensary. It is an exciting time for Bouza and she is glad to share it with the community of Wagner.

She said, “I have heard nothing but positive feedback from Wagner.”