South Dakota Supreme Court kills legalization of adult use

SIOUX FALLS, SD (AP) – The South Dakota Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling nullifying a voter-approved amendment to the state constitution that would have legalized recreational marijuana use.

Governor Kristi Noem praised the decision she was pushing for.

Governor Kristi Noem started the lawsuit to crush the amendment passed by voters in November. Although the Republican governor opposed legalizing marijuana as a social evil, her administration’s arguments in court focused on technical violations of the state constitution.

The Supreme Court endorsed these arguments in a 4: 1 ruling, ruling that the measure – Amendment A – violated the state’s requirement that constitutional amendments deal with only one issue.

“It is clear that Amendment A contains provisions covering at least three different subjects, each with different aims or purposes,” wrote Presiding Judge Steven Jensen in the majority opinion that found recreational marijuana, medical marijuana and hemp each are separate topics.

Around 54 percent of voters approved the constitutional amendment last year. But the superintendent of Highway Patrol, Col. Rick Miller, sued Noem. Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom also joined the lawsuit. The Supreme Court ruled that the law enforcement officers had no legal standing, but since Noem upheld Miller’s lawsuit, they treated them as if Noem was filing the lawsuit himself.

Noem praised the decision, saying it wouldn’t change how it implements a separate voter-passed law that legalizes medical marijuana. This law has already entered into force.

“South Dakota is a place where the rule of law and our constitution are important and that is what today’s decision is about,” she said in a statement. “We do things right – and how we do things – is just as important as what we do.”

“A far-fetched legal theory”

The state Supreme Court decision upheld a district judge’s judgment in February. Proponents of legalization appealed, arguing that the Supreme Court should dismiss the case because it upset voters’ will and dampened their future ability to legislate through the ballot box.

Matthew Schweich, campaign leader for South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, called the verdict “extremely flawed” and relied on “a disrespectful assumption that South Dakota’s voters are intellectually incapable of understanding the initiative.”

“The court rejected common sense and instead used far-fetched legal theory to overturn a law passed by over 225,000 South Dakota voters with no logical or conclusive support,” he said in a statement.

Vote over and over again

Legalization of adult use is not going to go away in South Dakota. Proponents of legalization are trying to bring the issue back to voters next year through a vote that would instruct lawmakers to legalize it. Legislators are also considering legalizing cannabis for adults in the coming legislative period.

Cannabis has become widely accepted in the United States, with a Gallup poll last year showing that 68% of Americans were in favor of legalization. South Dakota was among the four states that approved recreational marijuana that month, along with New Jersey, Arizona, and Montana. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have done this.

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