Judge Voids South Dakota’s Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Finding Voter-Approved Measure Was Unconstitutional
By Ben Adlin
February 8, 2021
A South Dakota state judge has ruled that last year’s voter-approved initiative to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and over is unconstitutional and cannot go forward, though advocates plan to appeal.
Judge Christina Klinger of the state’s Sixth Judicial Circuit Court ruled Monday that the measure, Amendment A, includes multiple subjects rather than a single issue as required by the state constitution. She also wrote that because the measure “has far reaching effects on the basic nature of South Dakota’s governmental system,” it should have been referred to voters through the constitutional convention process instead of as a simple amendment.
“The failure to submit Amendment A through the proper constitutional process voids the amendment,” Klinger wrote in Monday’s ruling, “and it has no effect.”
Brendan Johnson, sponsor of Amendment A and an attorney for South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, told Marijuana Moment after the ruling that reform advocates will appeal Klinger’s ruling to the state’s highest court.
“We disagree with the ruling,” said Johnson, a former U.S. attorney for South Dakota, “and we are preparing our appeal to the South Dakota Supreme Court.”
For now the decision is a win for the law enforcement leaders who filed the challenge. The lawsuit has the backing of Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who has said that voters made “the wrong choice” by legalizing marijuana.
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Judge Voids South Dakota’s Marijuana Legalization Initiative
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Originally Posted by TheTexan
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