South Dakota activists have taken a first step toward putting marijuana legalization on the state ballot for the third time in as many election cycles.
Voters rejected the campaign’s most recent reform initiative last month, but advocates say low turnout during a midterm election and insufficient funding were largely to blame, pointing out that an earlier 2020 legalization measure was approved by voters before being invalidated by the state Supreme Court amid a legal challenge led by the governor.
While South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML) hasn’t necessarily committed to pursuing another reform measure at the ballot in 2024, activists are exploring funding options and feel confident legalization would prevail, especially considering that presidential election years see greater turnout by young and liberal voters who broadly support legalization.
SDBML recently submitted the text of a reform initiative to the state Legislative Research Council (LRC), Dakota News Now reported. That body will complete a review of the measure as one of the first steps on the path to the ballot.
It’s not clear if the text has been revised from its 2022 form, but that measure was kept intentionally simple to avoid a single-subject challenge, which is what led to
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