A proposal in the South Dakota legislature to legalize recreational pot finally cleared one hurdle last week only to be stymied by another on Monday.
But the legislation, Senate Bill 3, may not be completely dead just yet, much to the joy of advocates.
The bill, which sought to uphold a ballot proposal that was passed by voters in 2020 but later nullified by the courts, was approved by a single vote in the South Dakota state Senate last week. But that momentum proved to be short-lived.
On Monday, members of the the House State Affairs Committee rejected the bill by a vote of 8-3, although according to local television station KELO, “rumors speculate it could be brought back to life on the House floor later in the week.”
The bill represents just the latest twist in what has become a years-long saga surrounding legalization in the Mount Rushmore State.
In 2020, voters there passed a pair of measures at the ballot dealing with cannabis: Amendment A, a proposed change to the state constitution to legalize recreational pot for adults aged 21 and older, as well as hemp and medicinal cannabis; and Initiated Measure, which sought to legalize only medicinal cannabis.
But Amendment A faced resistance from the state’s Republican governor, Kristi Noem, almost immediately after the ballots were counted.
Noem and a pair of law enforcement officials challenged the amendment in court and, in February of last year, a judge in South Dakota ruled in their favor. In November, a day before Thanksgiving, the state’s Supreme Court upheld that ruling, saying that Amendment A violated the South Dakota Constitution’s “one subject” requirement.
Supporters of Senate Bill 3