PIERRE, S.D. (KELO.com) — South Dakotans have many choices they must make when going to the polls each election cycle, but this year could prove even more interesting.
Two initiatives will be on the ballot this November regarding marijuana and its usage in South Dakota.
One of those initiatives would legalize medical marijuana and the other would make the plant legal for adult use 21 years or older to consume and have on their person. It would also require the state to regulate tax and issue licenses for growth and allow residents to grow up to six plants at home.
Recreational marijuana made the ballot through the efforts of South Dakotans For Better Marijuana Policy with help from the Marijuana Policy Project, a marijuana advocacy group out of Washington D.C. MPP’s deputy director Matt Schweich says polling show South Dakotan’s favor legalization.
Schweich says this is just the beginning of a campaign to help sure up support for both ballot measures come November. It appears national attitudes about the substance are changing. Right now, recreational marijuana is legal in 11 states and Washington D.C. with Michigan being the most recent to legalize. Several other states have also legalized medical marijuana including North Dakota. According to Pew Research, two-thirds of Americans support the legalization of marijuana.
Despite its wider acceptance, not everyone is on board. For instance, Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom has already come out against the recreational measure calling marijuana a gateway drug. Schweich disagrees with that thought process.
If marijuana were to be legalized by the voters it would mean a whole new revenue stream from the state. Schweich says there are already examples of other states where these laws are working.
(Adam St. Paul, KABD-FM, contributed this report.)
