South Dakota Judge Says Marijuana Amendment Violates Constitution
Back in November of 2020, the citizens of South Dakota voted to legalize marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. Both measures will go into effect on July 1st of 2021.
As many businesses gear up to accommodate the sale of legalized pot in South Dakota there may be a hitch in that giddy-up. It seems South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem doesn't want weed legalized in the state.
Governor Noem had Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom and South Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent Rick Miller file a patition questioning the legality of the legalization.
On Monday Circuit court judge Christina Klinger in Hughes County issued a ruling that the voter-approved measure legalizing recreational marijuana in South Dakota is unconstitutional.
And according to Dakota News Now the plaintiffs filed that “the measure takes on multiple subjects, which violates the state’s one-subject rule requiring amendments to address only one topic at a time. Second, they argued the measure was a revision rather than an amendment - essentially, a fundamental change to the constitution - which would require a three-fourths vote from both chambers of the state legislature.”
The case is likely to be appealed to the South Dakota Supreme Court before takes effect which is scheduled for July 1, 2021