South Dakota cannabis activists are still eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court’s verdict of Amendment A. Approved in the 2020 general election, Amendment A would legalize recreational cannabis to citizens 21 and over. However, in February, a circuit judge overturned Amendment A. Activists appealed the amendment all the way up to the Supreme Court in April. However, nearly five months later, there is still no verdict on Amendment A. 

Activists have now turned to their own measures submitted earlier this year to put them on the 2022 ballot. But time is running out. Valid signatures must be submitted by November 8 for measures to qualify. For constitutional amendments, 33,921 signatures must be submitted and confirmed. For statutory measures, activists must collect 16,961 signatures. 

“We must prepare for the worst,” Matthew Schweich said. He is the deputy director of Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), which has been leading and coordinating reform efforts in South Dakota. “So we are building a grassroots volunteer signature drive operation across the state in order to qualify another cannabis legalization initiative for the 2022 ballot. We need our supporters to once again donate their time and energy to ensure that the will of the people is respected in South Dakota.”

Ballot Measures

There are currently four ballot measures MPP has received approval from the Secretary of State to begin signature collection on, two constitutional amendments and two statutory measures. Both constitutional amendments would allow adults 21 and over to possess up to one ounce of cannabis. Home growth would become legal, but limited to three plants. If more than one adult lives in the house, then the plant limit increases to six. Additionally, public consumption would remain banned. However, for one of the amendments, there would be no initial retail sales. However, lawmakers can legalize retail sales in the future. 

These amendments aren’t as well defined or precise as some of the statutory measures from the state. That’s so lawmakers can have some impact and decision in the lawmaking process. Those include which department will set the regulations, revenue distribution, and license costs. Statutory measures are more defined and offer more explanation for what the people want. 

The statutory measures, laws not attached to the state’s constitution like amendments, would legalize the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis at a time. Additionally, the statutory measures would allow home growth for of up to three plants. The first measure requires the Department of Revenue to be responsible for licenses, regulations, and revenue distribution. A 15 percent excise tax would apply to all retail sales. 

The second measure would not legalize retail sales initially, but similar to the second amendment proposed, lawmakers have the option to legalize it later down the road. 

Next Steps

South Dakota activists plan to launch a large-scale signature gathering effort to qualify as many of their measures for the 2022 ballot as possible. At the same time, they, along with the rest of the country, continue to wait for the South Dakota Supreme Court decision on Amendment A. As more information becomes available, we will update you with the latest. 

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