South Dakota voters made history last Election Day by becoming the first state in the nation to pass both medical and adult-use cannabis legalization initiatives on the same day. But, South Dakota could also make history as the first state to see a voter-passed cannabis initiative overturned as the result of a legal battle initiated by its governor, as Cannabis Wire has reported. While Gov. Kristi Noem has left alone Measure 26, which legalized medical cannabis, she called for a lawsuit against Amendment A, a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis for adult use, and also require the legislature to develop medical cannabis and hemp rules by April 1, 2022. The South Dakota Supreme Court is expected to release a decision any day now on the challenge to Amendment A. It was in the shadow of that looming Supreme Court decision that the first meeting of the South Dakota Adult-Use Marijuana Subcommittee, a group of state lawmakers, took place this week (a separate subcommittee on medical cannabis is also underway). Once that decision comes down, the chair of the group said he’ll put together a separate, smaller workgroup of five or so members to hammer out the next steps.
Alyson Martin, Cannabis Wire, 06/23/2021 20:00:00