FILE - Jars of marijuana line a shelf at The Flower Shop Dispensary in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Oct. 14, 2022. Advocates of legalizing recreational marijuana, a mission with a rocky history in South Dakota, submitted thousands of signatures to election officials on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in the hopes of once again getting the issue on the conservative state's November ballot. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves, File)
FILE - Jars of marijuana line a shelf at The Flower Shop Dispensary in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Oct. 14, 2022. Advocates of legalizing recreational marijuana, a mission with a rocky history in South Dakota, submitted thousands of signatures to election officials on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in the hopes of once again getting the issue on the conservative state's November ballot. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves, File)
South Dakota voters will decide again whether to legalize recreational marijuana, an issue with a frustrating history for backers of the ballot initiative in the conservative state.
On Monday, Secretary of State Monae Johnson's office validated a measure for the November general election ballot. South Dakota voters have weighed in on the question.
voters passed a measure which was in court. voters defeated another attempt.
Twenty-four states have legalized recreational marijuana. most recently, in November 2023. on the issue this fall. And other efforts are ongoing in other states, including
The South Dakota measure would legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 and older. The proposal has possession limits of 2 ounces of marijuana in a form other than concentrated cannabis or cannabis products. The measure also allows cultivation of plants, with restrictions. Measure backers plan to work with the Legislature to implement business licensing, tax and other regulations, if successful.
“We firmly believe that South Dakotans deserve to make their own choices on how they live their lives, including the freedom to responsibly use cannabis,” said Zebadiah Johnson, political director for the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana, in a statement.
Opponent Jim Kinyon, chairperson of Protecting South Dakota Kids, said the state's voters already had a say on the issue and recreational marijuana back in 2022. He criticized supporters' repeated efforts to put the issue to a vote.
“How many times does the state of South Dakota need to reject recreational marijuana before the industry will accept the decision of the state’s citizens?” Kinyon said.
“I expect that the industry will triple down on their money to try and sway and disuade voters,” Protecting South Dakota Kids chairperson Jim Kinyon said.
Other initiated measures on South Dakota's ballot this fall are ones to to repeal the state food tax and to implement a election system.
____
Ballentine contributed to this report from Columbia, Missouri, and Dura contributed from Bismarck, North Dakota.
The ɫtv Press. All rights reserved.
Get the latest from ɫtvNews in your inbox. Select the emails you're interested in below.
It’s a little-known fact that Canada’s credit unions are among the country’s stron…
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
