PIERRE Advocates for a voter-passed measure to legalize marijuana in South Dakota are crying foul about a taxpayer-funded lawsuit from Gov. Kristi Noem opposing the measure as the battle over the issue enters its final round at the state Supreme Court.
At one point during the legal proceedings, taxpayers were paying for lawyers on opposing sides of the courtroom. The attorney general’s office was defending the constitutional amendment against lawyers for Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Rick Miller, who was effectively acting on behalf of the Republican governor.
The attorney general’s office has since withdrawn from the case, leaving marijuana advocates to appeal to the Supreme Court in an effort to reverse a circuit court judge’s ruling. Last month, Circuit Judge Christina Klinger found the constitutional amendment known as Amendment A would have violated the state constitution.
Pot advocates cry foul on Noem using state funds for lawsuit
STEPHEN GROVES, Associated Press
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PIERRE, S.D. (AP) Advocates for a voter-passed measure to legalize marijuana in South Dakota are crying foul about a taxpayer-funded lawsuit from Gov. Kristi Noem opposing it as the battle over the issue enters its final round at the state Supreme Court.
At one point during the legal proceedings, taxpayers were paying for lawyers on opposing sides of the court room. The attorney general’s office was defending the constitutional amendment against lawyers for Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Rick Miller, who was effectively acting on behalf of the Republican governor.
[author: Susan Ryan]
Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.
Virginia makes progress on legalizing adult-use cannabis. A South Dakota court overturns the legalization ballot measure. New Jersey still has no marijuana legislation. Will Congress treat CBD as a supplement? Will Congress allow cannabis research? And finally, Don Lemon doesn’t endorse your CBD product.
VIRGINIA
Legalization moved forward again this week, as both chambers of the state legislature
voted in favor of allowing adult-use cannabis. The bills differ significantly, so there’s more work to do before legislation can be sent to Governor Northam.
List of ballot measure lawsuits in 2021
From Ballotpedia
2022 lawsuits →
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This page lists summaries of lawsuits filed about ballot measures in 2021. Lawsuits can be filed before an election specifically to keep a measure from being put on the ballot. Such pre-election lawsuits often allege one or more of the following: invalid signatures, biased or misleading petition language, or other criticisms that if agreed to by a judge could cause the measure to be removed or blocked from the ballot.