South Dakota activists say they’re falling behind on signature gathering for a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in the state—and they’re urging supporters to step up their efforts to secure the remaining signatures ahead of a looming turn-in deadline next month. South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML) held a press conference on Wednesday to give a status update on the campaign and convey the urgency of collecting the remaining signatures to give voters a chance to decide on reform after the legislature failed to enact it this year. Matthew Schweich, campaign director of SDBML, said that the campaign’s conservative estimate of how many valid signatures they’ve currently processed is around 13,500. In order to qualify for the ballot, activists will need to submit 16,961 legitimate signatures from registered voters to the state by May 3. South Dakota voters already approved legalization during the 2020 election, but the reform was struck down by the state Supreme Court following a challenge from the governor’s office. Schweich said that the court ruling was an “injustice,” but “we can’t change that.” However, he said that “what we do have control over is getting on the ballot—so let’s go get on the ballot.”
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 04/13/2022 15:14:00