When voters approved Amendment A for a adult-use cannabis program within their state, they didn’t expect the pushback it has been receiving the past few weeks. With a 54 percent approval rate, Amendment A would allow citizens to enjoy adult-use cannabis for those over 21. However, a circuit court judge ruled that the amendment was unconstitutional. Unfortunately, Amendment A dealt with more than one topic. It also acts more like a revision to the Constitution than an actual amendment.
Amendment A
Amendment A is being contested by both the Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom and South Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent Rick Miller. Both individuals received endorsement from Governor Noem to contest the voter approved amendment. Governor Noem has been against all marijuana legalization measures since they became part of the 2020 general election. With all the pushback from lawmakers on cannabis reform, it’s leaving citizens confused and wondering if those they voted for have their best interests in mind.
Several Senate members have stated as much. Senator Brock Greenfield (R) urged lawmakers to listen to their citizens. Otherwise those citizens would look into replacing them with someone who would. Amendment A received the popular vote from citizens and they made their voices heard. In response to Amendment A’s unconstitutional status, the Senate introduced SB 187. This would create a skeletal framework for an adult-use cannabis program run by the state.
Senate Bill 187
The bill was first heard in the Senate Health and Human Services committee, where it passed with a 5-1 vote. Once it was introduced to the full Senate chamber, the bill went through several changes. Finally, SB 187B saw approval by a narrow majority vote of 19-16. The opposite of the voter majority approval for the original Amendment A.
The bill opens with:
“The Legislature does not endorse the decision of the voters to make lawful the sale, possession, and consumption of adult-use retail marijuana. In recognition of the voters’ recent decision on Amendment A, the Legislature believes it necessary to enact this legislation to properly ensure the regulated and enforceable administration of laws concerning the sale, possession, and consumption of adult-use retail marijuana.”
This means that the only reason the Senate introduced this bill is that citizens stated what they want. Whether or not the lawmakers agreed with the final verdict. This is how a Democratic Republic government system is supposed to work, though it doesn’t always work like this.
SB 187 does rely on Amendment A being deemed constitutional by the state’s Supreme Court System by July 1. However, that is still up in the air on how the court will rule on Amendment A. But for now, the Senate bill is on it’s way to the House of Representatives for further discussion and debate. If it passes the House, it then goes to the Governor’s desk. Governor Noem stated she is not inclined to pass any marijuana bills this year.
Future
If Governor Noem does veto the bill, the Senate and House can come together to undo the veto and make a bill into law with a ⅔ majority vote. There is a chance SB 187 will come down to this final majority vote. But there are several steps the bill must go through before that debate would begin.
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