On the day before Thanksgiving, South Dakota’s Supreme Court issued a ruling for which proponents and opponents of cannabis legalization have waited throughout most of 2021. At this point, the Court’s decision, to strike down an adult-use ballot measure that voters passed in November 2020, amounts to a speed bump. Both advocates and lawmakers have been at work for months crafting separate contingency plans to legalize in the state. Looking ahead to 2022, the question is: which one will prevail? This summer, lawmakers formed the Adult-Use Marijuana Study Subcommittee, which met between June and October. During those months, the subcommittee heard from stakeholders across law enforcement, local government, and the cannabis industry, with a specific focus on lessons learned from Colorado. By the final meeting, a draft bill to legalize and regulate adult-use was ready for the full legislature’s upcoming consideration in January. Rep. Mike Derby, who spearheaded these legislative efforts, told Cannabis Wire that he would prefer legalization through the legislature rather than through another ballot measure.
Nushin Rashidian, Cannabis Wire, 11/28/2021 19:00:00