Marijuana Penalties May Be Revised
It's a class-4 felony in South Dakota to give or sell any amount of marijuana to a minor — punishable by up to 10 years in prison — no matter how little or how much pot winds up in a kid's hands.
However, the attorney general's office is pushing legislation that would base the punishment on the amounts of marijuana that minors receive. HB1061 would go a little easier on small amounts of marijuana but a lot tougher for large amounts.
- Up to 1 ounce of pot given to kids could bring 5 years behind bars.
- 1 ounce to a half pound would bring a maximum prison term of 10 years.
- From a half pound to 1 pound would be 15 years, and amounts over a pound would bring a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
