"We think that this ruling is extremely flawed. It is based on the idea that Amendment A was three subjects. We all know Amendment A was the recreational cannabis legalization initiative. To say the voters weren’t able to understand Amendment A, we think that is disrespectful," said Matthew Schweich, MPP's deputy director.

"It is long overdue that D.C. residents have access to safe, regulated cannabis. This legislation will boost public health and public safety in D.C.and begin to repair the past harms cannabis prohibition has caused by reinvesting in those communities and providing opportunity in the legal cannabis industry," said Olivia Naugle, MPP's legislative analyst.

"This legislation would definitely boost public health and public safety in DC and begin to repair the past harms cannabis prohibition has caused, particularly in communities of color," said Olivia Naugle, MPP's legislative analyst.

“It’s been long awaited,” said Olivia Naugle, legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project.

"The opioid epidemic has killed tens of thousands of Americans, so someone saying that we should not be expanding access to medical cannabis as though it’s an equally dangerous option as opioids is ridiculous," said Matthew Schweich, MPP's deputy director.

"When you get to the point when half of the country has legalized for adult use, we have now set a stage for inevitability. And that begins to change the tone and tenor in Washington," said Steve Hawkins, MPP's executive director.

"This is creating hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue in other states and Maryland has the same opportunity to benefit from the economic boost of legalizing cannabis," said Olivia Naugle, MPP's legislative analyst.

"There is still a misconception among many policymakers that small-scale home cultivation of cannabis fuels the illicit market. The reality is that cannabis is difficult to grow and a person growing six to twelve plants at home has a negligible impact on the supply of cannabis in a state," said Matthew Schweich, MPP's deputy director.

Proponents say these efforts are needed to help minority entrepreneurs overcome barriers to licenses, capital and technical assistance that keep them out of legal cannabis markets. Tahir Johnson, director of social equity and inclusion for the Marijuana Policy Project, likened the range of programs to little laboratories that are finding out what's working. "None of them are perfect, but they are getting better and better," he said.

“We’re confident that we can collect enough signatures because we know that South Dakota voters are very motivated to put this back on the ballot if need be,” said Matthew Schweich, the campaign director for the group who also works with the Marijuana Policy Project. “Voters have had something taken away from them and our ballot petition is a means to get it back.”