SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — A South Dakota legislative committee heard almost twelve hours of input and information on medical and recreational marijuana last week.
Senator Art Rusch of Vermillion said he still isn’t confident the state is prepared for the new law.
“I don’t think we’re ready for it. We’re really just learning about a lot of the different issues,” Rusch said.
Lawmakers failed to reach an agreement about how to implement the voter-approved law, so it’s going on the books unchanged from how it looked on the ballot. Medical marijuana will become legal in the state on July 1.
Rusch said some committee members will be traveling to other states where medical marijuana is legal to gain insights on how those states regulate the marijuana business.
Rusch was appointed to a subcommittee dealing with recreational marijuana, or adult-use marijuana. The South Dakota Supreme Court is considering a challenge to a constitutional amendment legalizing pot that voters approved in November. Rusch said lawmakers need to be ready if and when the state Supreme Court rules.
Rusch said a Supreme Court ruling upholding the amendment would put lawmakers “in a world of hurt as far as getting something done right away.”
(Jerry Oster, WNAX, contributed to this report.)
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