The South Dakota House on Thursday rejected a bill to legalize marijuana that had been temporarily revived after a committee defeat earlier this week. Now, activists are moving ahead with an effort to put legalization before voters again this November. Meanwhile, the House defeated separate legislation to gut existing protections for medical cannabis patients. It’s been a wild ride for the legalization proposal, SB 3, which had already passed the Senate last week. But then the House State Affairs Committee voted against the proposal on Monday, which typically would have spelled death for the legislation for the session. However, 24 members rose on Tuesday to put give the bill new life on the floor despite the committee action, a legislative maneuverer that is by pure coincidence known as a “smoke out.” But even after the legislative about-face, the House on Thursday ultimately voted 28-40 not to formally calendar the bill, effectively killing it for the session. Just before the vote, Rep. Greg Jamison (R) urged colleagues to give the body a chance to debate the legislation. “All of South Dakota voted on this issue. The entire Senate body voted on this issue,” he said. “Today is our chance to complete the cycle of this issue.”
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/03/2022 15:40:00