A Hughes County judge heard arguments over a legal challenge backed by Gov. Kristi Noem and law enforcement to the state's voter-approved constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana in the state.
S.D. lawmakers off to slow start in regulating legal weed, but industry ramping up Nick Lowrey, South Dakota News Watch
Entrepreneurs across South Dakota are already taking steps to claim a share of the state’s soon-to-be-legal marijuana market, but legislators and regulators are off to a slow start in crafting laws and rules to govern the controversial new industry.
The sale, possession and use of recreational and medicinal marijuana are set to become legal in South Dakota for the first time on July 1. But when the 2021 South Dakota legislative session started on Jan. 12, only one bill regarding marijuana had been filed.
South Dakota lawmakers hesitant on legal weed as industry ramps up
Marijuana entrepreneurs, however, are not waiting for the Legislature to act. Many have been working for months to get businesses ready for the July 1 legalization date.
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Nick Lowrey / South Dakota News Watch | 2:15 pm, Jan. 19, 2021 ×
A farmer plants marijuana. Shutterstock photo
Entrepreneurs across South Dakota are already taking steps to claim a share of the state’s soon-to-be-legal marijuana market, but legislators and regulators are off to a slow start in crafting laws and rules to govern the controversial new industry.
A group of 15 Republican lawmakers have formed what they call a “Cannabis Caucus” to address marijuana issues this session. But leaders in both the Republican and Democratic parties say discussions on preparing for legalization and regulation of the business of marijuana sales, possession and use one of the top matters facing the 2021 Legislatur
Will South Dakota Be the First State to Overturn a Cannabis Legalization Vote?
Governor Kristi Noem has signed an executive order declaring that she called for a lawsuit challenging Amendment A, a cannabis measure that voters approved on their November ballots.
Published on Jan 11, 2021 6:53AM ESTSouth Dakota
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Voters in South Dakota made cannabis history in November 2020 as the first to pass ballot measures to legalize cannabis for medical and adult use at the same time. Now, just two months later, a lawsuit is heating up that raises the question: will the state make history again, as the first to see legal cannabis overturned?
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem issued an executive order Friday to officially direct a lawsuit challenging a voter-approved constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana.