Signature collection ongoing!
Last update: May 8, 2017
New Approach South Dakota came close to putting a measure on the 2016 ballot, falling shy due in part to a notary error. Now, the group is working to put medical marijuana on the 2018 ballot.
On May 2, 2017, New Approach South Dakota held a signature collection kick-off event. Two petitions have been approved for circulation by the Secretary of State’s office — one petition seeks to legalize the drug for medical uses and the other to legalize certain amounts of marijuana for adult use and to regulate and tax marijuana establishments.
Each petition needs 13,871 signatures by November 2017 to make it on the November 2018 ballot.
South Dakota allows limited access to cannabidiol
The South Dakota State Senate passed legislation (Senate Bill 95) removing cannabidiol (CBD oil) from the definition of marijuana and making it a Schedule IV controlled substance. Unfortunately, the bill included a requirement that any recommended CBD oil be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which would indefinitely curtail access to CBD oil in South Dakota.
On March 2, 2017, the House Health and Human Services Committee approved SB 95 by a vote of 7-3 and added an amendment eliminating prior FDA approval with the goal of increasing market availability. However, on March 17, Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed the Senate version of SB 95, which will exclude cannabidiol, if it receives FDA approval, from the definition of marijuana and will classify it as a Schedule IV controlled substance that could be recommended to patients. Relief for qualifying patients might arrive on the scene in South Dakota very soon since the FDA is scheduled to review Epidiolex, a nearly pure extract of cannabidiol, this summer.
South Dakota marijuana possession laws may be the nation’s harshest
Possession of just a small amount of marijuana in the state carries a potential penalty of a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Even more alarmingly, individuals who have consumed marijuana elsewhere are also subject to this penalty if they test positive for past use — even if they consumed marijuana in a state where it was legal. South Dakota appears to be the only state with such an “internal possession” law. In addition, possession of any amount of hash or concentrates is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
A study by the American Civil Liberties Union found that South Dakota was among the top 10 states for racial disparity in marijuana possession arrest rates. Despite people of all races using marijuana at very similar rates, blacks in South Dakota are nearly 4.8 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession.
Recently introduced Senate Bill 129 would revise the penalty for ingestion of marijuana, which would undo the uniquely severe law of criminalizing internal possession. Senate Bill 129 was introduced with a total of 15 sponsors. However, the sponsors have unambiguously stated this is not a first-step toward legalizing marijuana. Nonetheless, if enacted, this bill demonstrates a step toward common sense regulatory laws relating to possession.
Click here to ask your legislators to treat marijuana possession as civil offense, eliminating jail time for adults who choose to use a substance that is safer than alcohol and the life-changing collateral consequences triggered by a criminal conviction.
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