Illustration showing "now entering South Dakota" highway sign with cannabis leaf.
Less than three weeks after South Dakotans voted to approve cannabis legalization in the state, a pair of law enforcement officers have filed suit to stop it.
As Dakota News Now reported last Friday, plaintiffs Sheriff Kevin Thom of Pennington County and Colonel Rick Miller of the South Dakota Highway Patrol have filed a lawsuit in response to Amendment A, one of two cannabis-related measures that passed in the state earlier this month.
According to the outlet, Amendment A passed with 54%, effectively legalizing cannabis for adult use in the state; a separate question on South Dakotans’ ballots, concerning the legalization of medicinal cannabis a.k.a. medical marijuana, Measure 26, passed with nearly 70% support, Dakota News Now staff reported.
A press release issued by Sheriff Thom identifies two areas of focus for the lawsuit: firstly, the argument that Amendment A is unconstitutional in the state under South Dakota’s so-called “one subject” rule, which limits changing more than one topic in the state’s constitution at a time.
According to the release, attorneys will argue that the amendment to legalize cannabis actually addresses five separate issues, such as creating regulations for recreational sales and use, taxation of the plant, and regulations addressing both hemp and medical marijuana.
Zak Budryk reported today for The Hill, “The lawsuit further claims that the initiative is a “revision” rather than an amendment, that is, a fundamental change to the state constitution that requires a three-quarters vote from both chambers of the legislature.”
South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, which helped draft and promote Amendment A and Measure 26 ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, commented in a statement that they are “prepared to defend Amendment A” against the officers’ suit.
“Our opponents should accept defeat instead of trying to overturn the will of the people,” the group wrote. “Amendment A was carefully drafted, fully vetted, and approved by a strong majority of South Dakota voters this year.”
