In a recent statement, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, R, said she wants the cannabis activists who defended Amendment A in court to pay for the state’s lawsuit against it. Amendment A was approved at the polls in 2020 by 54 percent. This legalized recreational cannabis use for adults 21 and over across the state. The same year, IM 26 was also approved by 70 percent, which legalized medical cannabis for qualifying patients. 

Lawsuit

Shortly after the 2020 election, Governor Noem filed a lawsuit against Amendment A. Her administration argued the amendment broke the single clause law. This law requires proposed amendments to only cover one topic, not multiple. In February 2021, a circuit court judge deemed Amendment A unconstitutional for breaking the single clause law. 

The South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML) group filed an appeal for Amendment A, and took the trial to the Supreme Court. It took the court seven months to agree with the circuit court judge’s ruling. Amendment A was unconstitutional. 

Cost

Now that the new year has begun, Governor Noem is speaking out again against activists. A spokesperson for the governor’s office said, “proponents of Amendment A submitted an unconstitutional amendment and should reimburse South Dakota taxpayers for the costs associated with their drafting errors.”

Matthew Schweich, the campaign director for SDBML, posted a response on social media page following Governor Noem’s statement. 

“South Dakota cannabis reform advocates have no obligation to pay for Governor Noem’s political crusade to overturn the will of the people,” Schweich said. “Driven by her desire to deprive South Dakotans of personal freedom on cannabis, Governor Noem went out of her way to create an unnecessary legal battle over Amendment A and used taxpayer money to do it.”

Since the lawsuit, the governor has not said how much the lawsuit cost the state taxpayers, as they footed the bill for the entire process. This recent statement from the governor doesn’t bode well for her overall approval ratings. While still positive overall, 51 percent of South Dakota citizens disapprove of how Governor Noem has handled cannabis the past two years. With her reelection coming up this year, her stance on cannabis could swing voters against her. 

Next Steps

In order to overcome Amendment A’s failure, SDBML activists are collecting signatures. They plan to put another ballot measure on the 2022 ballot. This would be a simplified version of Amendment A that doesn’t break the single clause law Amendment A did. The proposal would legalize the possession of recreational cannabis for adults 21 and over. A separate proposal would create rules and regulations for a legal sales program for recreational cannabis. 

Activists continue to collect signatures for the ballot measures, but they may run out of time. As more information becomes available, we will update you with the latest. 

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