South Dakota lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a draft bill to legalize adult-use marijuana. The action comes as activists work to collect signatures for a separate reform proposal that they hope to put before voters on next year’s ballot. The Marijuana Interim Study Committee passed the legislation in a 14-10 vote. It must now go before the Executive Board before it is formally recommended to be taken up by the full legislature in 2022. Last week, a subcommittee specifically tasked with looking into recreational legalization, chaired by Rep. Hugh Bartels (R), passed an earlier version of the bill. Members also agreed to put language related to marijuana taxes into separate legislation that the full panel passed on Wednesday in a 16-8 vote. Separately, the full committee approved an amendment to the reform measure related to the state’s newly established medical cannabis program that voters passed and took effect in July. As drafted, the bill would have significantly undercut the program by making it so only those under 21 could qualify while steering adults toward the recreational market, but the panel agreed to scrap those provisions.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 10/27/2021 12:52:00