South Dakota Advocates Turn in Signatures for Adult-Use Cannabis Initiative
In a bold move, advocates in South Dakota have officially submitted a batch of signatures to get their adult-use cannabis initiative on the November ballot. The group, known as South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML), collected a whopping 29,030 signatures and turned them in on May 7, just in time to meet the deadline set by Secretary of State Monae Johnson’s office.
But the real question is, will these signatures be enough to secure a spot on the ballot? Out of the 29,030 signatures, 17,508 must be verified in order for the initiative to move forward. However, SDBML executive director Matthew Schweich is feeling confident. “Today is the culmination of seven months of hard work by advocates and volunteers across South Dakota,” Schweich stated. “We are very confident that we have collected enough signatures from registered voters to qualify for this November’s ballot.”
And it seems like the organization has good reason to be confident. According to sources, they have collected more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. Deb Peters, president of the Cannabis Industry Association of South Dakota, also expressed her hope for the initiative’s success. “Things all seem to be moving in the right direction for South Dakota to finally win the freedom they voted for a few years ago,” Peters said. “At the federal level, things are moving towards a responsible rescheduling and dozens of states are seeing the tax benefits of recreational cannabis legalization. It’s inspiring to see this industry come together and work so hard. We’re looking forward to Election Day.”
If passed, the initiative would allow adults over 21 to purchase and possess up to two ounces of cannabis (or 16 grams of concentrates), as well as grow up to six plants per person (with a maximum of 12 plants per household). However, possession of cannabis products cannot exceed 1,600 mg of THC.
The success of collecting these signatures was partially due to the secretary of state’s office approving the organization to pay canvassers to distribute ballot material and collect signatures, in addition to the hard work of volunteers. This approval was granted in December 2023, and the campaign material included the title and ballot description.
The secretary of state’s office has until August 13 to validate the signatures, as reported by The Washington Post. SDBML campaign director Matthew Schweich acknowledged South Dakota’s rocky history with adult-use legalization, but believes there are plenty of reasons for voters to support the 2024 measure. “I think for me, the strongest reason at its core is that if we’re going to allow alcohol to be legal in our society, then it makes absolutely no sense to punish people for using cannabis because alcohol is more harmful to the individual and to society than cannabis,” Schweich stated.
It’s worth noting that in 2020, South Dakota voters approved both an adult-use cannabis initiative (Amendment A) and a medical cannabis initiative (Measure 26). However, shortly after the votes were tallied, Governor Kristi Noem expressed her disappointment. “I was personally opposed to these measures and firmly believe they’re the wrong choice for South Dakota’s communities,” Noem stated at the time. “We need to be finding ways to strengthen our families, and legalizing cannabis is not the way to do that.”
