Marijuana and judge's gavel. Photo from GDNS.
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO.com) — Two marijuana reform organizations in South Dakota are hoping to offer state legislators a compromise on the timeline for legalizing medical marijuana in the state.
Melissa Mentele is the executive director of New Approach South Dakota. She says their compromise bill– House Bill 1100A– is an alternative to legislation recently brought forward by republican leadership to delay implementation of the voter-approved IM26 until at least 2022.
“Our compromise bill would ensure that medical marijuana patients and legally protected beginning July 1, 2021,” said Mentele. “We are making concessions on home cultivation. We are making concessions on the oversight committee and we are giving the legislature the opportunity to extend these deadlines further next January. We could have set the deadlines later this year, but wanted to propose a responsible compromise. We are making these concessions with a very heavy heart.”
Mentele says there is support for the proposed compromise among legislators.
Representatives from New Approach South Dakota and South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws say they’re talking with various legislators to introduce their compromise to HB1100.
Legalization of medical marijuana received 70% approval from South Dakota on the Nov. 3, 2020, general election ballot.
(Jody Heemstra, DRG News, provided this story.)
