Legalization advocates campaign for difficult race in South Dakota

Two years ago, South Dakota was a symbol of the radical change in attitudes towards marijuana use in America — a deep red, Trump-loving state that had defied conventional wisdom and embraced weed.

But next month, Mount Rushmore state could give the legalization movement a reality check.

Voters there are expected to vote on Measure 27, which would legalize personal possession of marijuana in the state for adults 21 and older. Recent polls indicate that the electorate is divided.

A new South Dakota State University poll released this week found that 47% of voters in the state oppose legalizing recreational marijuana, while 45% support the idea. Eight percent said they weren’t sure.

Measure 27 represents something of a repeat for advocates after an amendment to legalize recreational cannabis in 2020 was approved by voters in South Dakota, only to be overruled by the courts following a legal challenge by the state’s Republican Gov. Kristi Noem to get knocked down.

54 percent of state voters approved Amendment A, but the state Supreme Court ultimately overturned it last November, ruling that it violated the South Dakota Constitution’s “one-subject” requirement for constitutional amendments.

Amendment A aimed to change the state’s recreational marijuana, medical cannabis, and hemp law. (South Dakota voters also approved a separate 2020 election proposal that specifically legalized medicinal cannabis).

The state constitution “not only contains a requirement for a single issue, but directs proponents of a constitutional amendment to prepare an amendment so that the various issues can be voted on separately,” Chief Justice Steven Jensen wrote in the majority opinion.

“This constitutional directive could not be expressed more clearly – each issue must be voted on separately – and simply severing certain provisions may or may not reflect the actual will of the electorate,” Jensen wrote. “As such, we cannot accept the proponents’ suggestion that removing the medical marijuana and hemp provisions from Amendment A in favor of retaining the provisions regulating and legalizing recreational marijuana is an appropriate remedy. Amendment A is void in its entirety.”

Noem, a possible Republican presidential nominee for 2024, celebrated the Supreme Court ruling.

“South Dakota is a place where the rule of law and our Constitution matter, and that’s what today’s decision is about,” she said at the time. “We do things right – and how we do things is just as important as what we do. We are still subject to the rule of law.”

Measure 27 initiated qualified for the South Dakota vote in May after the South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws campaign behind it submitted sufficient verified signatures to the Secretary of State’s office.

The campaign has taken a populist approach, stating that the measure will “restore the will of the people by legalizing cannabis in South Dakota for a second time.”

But this week’s poll from SDSU wasn’t the first sign that 2022 could be very different from 2020.

A poll released in late August by local nonprofit South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota found that 54% of voters in the state opposed legalizing recreational cannabis, while 44% supported it.

With just over three weeks to go before Election Day, pro-legalization advocates are now preparing to invade South Dakota.

Matthew Schweich, the director of South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, announced at a press conference Wednesday that the campaign will kick off an 18-city nationwide tour this weekend.