South Dakota’s historic 2020 legalization campaign heats up

Last update: October 7, 2020

With Election Day fast approaching, the campaign for Amendment A and Measure 26 is firing on all cylinders. Meanwhile, opponents are doing everything they can to defeat marijuana reform, including resorting to scare tactics and false claims about Colorado and what the South Dakota measures would do.

The good news is the 2020 campaign — South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws — is fighting back. In September, as absentee ballots began going out, the campaign sent mailers about the benefits of Amendment A and Measure 26 to tens of thousands of voters across the state. They’re also running TV and digital ads that explain the benefits of Amendment A (which legalizes marijuana for adults 21 and over and protects medical marijuana access) and Measure 26 (which establishes a medical marijuana program). 

They also have some great Facebook videos from supporters (including popular travel writer and public TV host Rick Steves) that they’re sharing with voters. They’re getting their message out through traditional media as well, making the case for legal access to medical marijuana and pushing back on the opponents’ false claims. 

And on September 30, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws organized a successful day of action across the state!


The campaign is working very hard, and they’re still on a path to victory. But in past campaigns in other states, anti-reform forces have spent big money in the final weeks before Election Day. So we can’t take anything for granted in South Dakota.

Here’s how you can help:

1. If you live in South Dakota, or know someone who does, double check that you are registered to vote! The deadline is October 19. If you have questions, you should visit SouthDakota2020.org/vote or contact the campaign on Facebook. 

2. If you can, please make a donation directly to South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws. Whether it’s $10 or $100, it will really help the campaign.

3. Buy an A+26 t-shirt! Fifteen dollars ($15) from each purchase is donated to the campaign. 

MPP staff are playing an important role in this exciting campaign, which will be historic. Until now, no state has approved medical marijuana and legalization for adults on the same ballot. If you live in South Dakota or know others who do, make sure you get involved and support South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws.

South Dakota will vote on medical marijuana and adult-use legalization in November!

Thanks to the hard work of advocates who gathered over 83,000 signatures in just two months last fall, South Dakota will become the first state to ever vote on medical marijuana and adult-use legalization at the same time.

South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws is championing a constitutional initiative to tax and regulate marijuana and working alongside New Approach South Dakota, which is supporting a statutory medical marijuana measure. Both initiatives work together and support one another. Polling suggests cannabis policy reform enjoys strong support among South Dakota voters. In June, the campaigns rolled out over 50 endorsements for their initiatives from leaders with backgrounds in health care, business, and politics.

Don’t sit on the sidelines! Please support and get involved in this historic effort if you can. And sign up for our email alerts to get the latest news out of South Dakota!

South Dakota Secretary of State Steve Barnett (white shirt), MPP Deputy Director Matthew Schweich (blue blazer), and South Dakota campaign staff and volunteers stand alongside over 53,000 signatures being submitted to qualify the constitutional adult-use marijuana legalization ballot initiative.

South Dakota marijuana possession laws may be the nation's harshest 

Possession of just a small amount of marijuana in South Dakota 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. Even just possessing drug paraphernalia, like a marijuana pipe, in South Dakota can land you a misdemeanor charge, up to 30 days in prison, and up to a $500 fine.

A study by the American Civil Liberties Union found that South Dakota was among the top 10 states for racial disparities 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.

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.

South Dakota allows controlled access to cannabidiol, fails to protect medical cannabis patients

In 2017, South Dakota's legislature enacted the most restrictive and limited of any state law that acknowledges some form of cannabis’ medical value. The law (Senate Bill 95) removed cannabidiol (CBD oil) from the definition of marijuana and made it a Schedule IV controlled substance, if and only if CBD oil was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. (A House committee had approved a version of the bill that would have eliminated the FDA approval requirement.)

In 2018, the FDA approved Epidiolex, a nearly pure pharmaceutical extract of cannabidiol, for Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet Syndromes, types of epilepsy.

Unfortunately, this does not help patients who need some THC in order to get relief for their symptoms, so an effective medical marijuana program is still needed. It also does not help patients who benefit from other types of CBD products or who have other medical conditions.

Please ask your legislators to support compassionate access to medical marijuana for seriously ill South Dakotans.

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